Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

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Preparation of Light-responsive Membranes by a Combined Surface Grafting and Postmodification Process
Published on: March 21, 2014
Photocontraction of liquid spiropyran-merocyanine films
Abstract:
Amorphous films of a photochromic spiropyran containing a mesogenic group melt, when exposed to heat together with irradiation, to yield a red fluid. This fluid contains aggregates of merocyanine molecules and exhibits marked contraction under light illumination. The mechanism of the photocontraction is dependent upon a specialized microstructure, which may be termed a "quasi-liquid."

