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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
A single-component photo-responsive fluid based on a gemini surfactant with an azobenzene spacer
Binglei Song1, Yufang Hu, Jianxi Zhao
1Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
A new gemini surfactant with an azobenzene group incorporated in the spacer has been synthesized. In water, this new compound forms a photo-responsive fluid, and the properties have been characterized by rheology and freeze-fracture electron microscopy (FF-TEM). UV/Vis irradiation causes a reversible change in zero shear viscosity of about 5 orders of magnitude. The different rheological properties correspond to different aggregation states in solution. A densely entangled network and small discrete micelles are respectively responsible for the high viscosity and the low viscosity state, as revealed by FF-TEM. The simplicity and high photo-efficiency of this single-component system act as a foundation for designing novel stimuli-responsive materials.
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