Photoinduced birefringence in copolymers containing Disperse Red 1 and styrene

Abstract

A series of copolymers of 4'-[[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]ethyl]amino]-4-nitroazobenzene (DR1M) and an optically "inert" styrene comonomer were tested for photoinduced birefringence. The level of saturated birefringence increased linearly with the content of DR1M in the copolymer. The birefringence per mole of azo chromophore was constant along the copolymer series.Key words: azobenzene, photoinduced birefringence, copolymers, trans-cis isomerization.

Novel pendant azobenzene/polymer systems for second harmonic generation and optical data storage

“…This divergence from the theoretically expected behaviour, concerning the samples M1 and M3, is probably the consequence of chromophore aggregation that play a dominant role in limiting the translation of molecular to macroscopic optical nonlinearity, confirming earlier studies upon similar systems [45]. [46]. These emerge from aggregation in a parallel way (plane-to-plane stacking) of strong dipolar azo chromophores, which is thermodynamically more favored than a head-to-tail arrangement (end-to-end stacking, J-type).…”

Templating silica network construction using 3,5-dihydroxybenzylalcohol based dendrimers: influence of dendrimer aggregation on evolving network structure

“…Disperse red 1, that shows interesting photophysical properties 43,44 with a UV-Vis absorption (l max ) at 485 nm and a red color, is an ideal candidate for exploring molecular encapsulation into the dendrimer templated silica networks described above. Its entrapment into the internal cavities of DHBA based dendrimers has been examined earlier, in which the dendrimers were placed in a solution of DR1 in THF and an equilibration process led to its inclusion into the dendrimers.…”

Molecular-level interactions of an azopolymer and poly(dodecylmethacrylate) in mixed Langmuir and Langmuir–Blodgett films for optical storage

“…Its kinetics depends on whether the azobenzenes are chemically bonded onto the polymer backbones [6]. Photo-orientation depends on several factors, such as the free volume for the chromophores and the spacer between the azo groups, the main chain structure of the polymer [7][8][9][10], the light intensity, and the film thickness [11,12].…”