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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Preparation of Liquid Crystal Networks for Macroscopic Oscillatory Motion Induced by Light
Published on: September 20, 2017
Photoinduced bending behavior of cross-linked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer films with a poly(oxyethylene)
Jiu-an Lv1, Weiru Wang, Jixiang Xu
1Department of Materials Science & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Abstract:
Cross-linked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer films with a poly(oxyethylene) backbone are synthesized by photoinitiated cationic copolymerization. Azobenzene moieties in the film surface toward the light source are simultaneously photoaligned during photopolymerization with unpolarized 436 nm light and thus form a splayed alignment in the whole film. The prepared films show reversible photoinduced bending behavior with opposite bending directions when different surfaces of one film face to ultraviolet light irradiation.
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