Photoresponsive nanostructures of azobenzene-containing block copolymers at solid surfaces

Abstract

The self-assembly properties and photoresponsive behaviours of an azobenzene-containing block copolymer poly(acrylic acid-block-6-(4-(p-tolyldiazenyl)phenoxy)hexyl acrylate) (PAA-b-PAzo) are reported. As azobenzene has reversible trans–cis photoisomerization abilities, the trans PAA-b-PAzo solutions were converted...

High Mechanical Strength and Multifunctional Microphase‐Separated Supramolecular Hydrogels Fabricated by Liquid‐Crystalline Block Copolymer

“…The different heights may be attributed to the Azobenzene accumulating into crystalline domain forming the bright spots dispersing in the film matrix. [45] With the increase of Azobenzene content, more bright spots were observed in the images, these results agreed with the POM results (Figure 3, Figure S14, Supporting Information). The morphology of P(AM-G)-b-PAzo hydrogels was further studied by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM).…”

Photoswitchable block copolymers based on main chain α-bisimines

“…22 Despite a large library of existing photo-sensitive molecules, it appears the integration of azobenzenes into BCPs dominates the landscape, probably owing to their properties, e.g., lightinduced reversible trans/cis-isomerization, crystallinity and responsiveness towards linearly polarized light (LPL). [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Nevertheless, among azobenzene-based BCPs, the common design strategy is to place the azo-group on the side chain. 27,30,31 Reports that incorporate azobenzene into the polymer backbone are very scarce, especially for linear diblock copolymers, possibly because of the limited choice of suitable polymerization techniques coupled with the laborious synthetic access to the corresponding light-sensitive monomers.…”

“…[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Nevertheless, among azobenzene-based BCPs, the common design strategy is to place the azo-group on the side chain. 27,30,31 Reports that incorporate azobenzene into the polymer backbone are very scarce, especially for linear diblock copolymers, possibly because of the limited choice of suitable polymerization techniques coupled with the laborious synthetic access to the corresponding light-sensitive monomers. 32,33 Furthermore, in studies that aimed at the morphological manipulation of azobenzene-containing BCP thin films, the light-driven alteration of the initial nanostructure was typically not drastic.…”

Photoresponsive Diarylethene‐Containing Polymers: Recent Advances and Future Challenges

“…[21][22][23][24][25] Among various stimulus-responsive polymer materials, the modulation of material properties by phototriggered mechanisms offers the advantages of remote and noncontact control, dose dependence, lack of waste, noninvasiveness, and high spatial and temporal resolution [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] compared DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300117 to other triggering mechanisms such as temperature, [33][34][35][36][37] pressure, [38][39][40][41][42] pH, [43][44][45][46][47] and other chemical methods. [48][49][50][51][52] Photoresponsive molecules can be classified as azobenzene (AZO), [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] spiropyran (SP), [65][66][67]…”

“…[ 21–25 ] Among various stimulus‐responsive polymer materials, the modulation of material properties by phototriggered mechanisms offers the advantages of remote and noncontact control, dose dependence, lack of waste, noninvasiveness, and high spatial and temporal resolution [ 26–32 ] compared to other triggering mechanisms such as temperature, [ 33–37 ] pressure, [ 38–42 ] pH, [ 43–47 ] and other chemical methods. [ 48–52 ] Photoresponsive molecules can be classified as azobenzene (AZO), [ 53–64 ] spiropyran (SP), [ 65–76 ] diarylethene (DAE), [ 77–89 ] fulgides, [ 90–97 ] ruthenium‐containing dynamic bonds, [ 98–107 ] etc. Among them, AZO, SP, and DAE are the most commonly used photochromic agents ( Figure ).…”