Fluorinated Azobenzenes for Shape-Persistent Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks
Supitchaya Iamsaard, Emmanuel Anger, Sarah Jane Aßhoff, Alexis Depauw, Prof. Dr. Stephen P. Fletcher and Prof. Dr. Nathalie Katsonis
Liquid crystal polymers that contain fluorinated azobenzenes and retain a photochemically generated shape for more than eight days are reported.
To preserve photoactivated molecular deformation on the macroscopic scale, the thermal stability of the photoswitch, the cross-linking density in the polymer network, and the molecular orientations in the material have been optimized.