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Published on: September 20, 2017
Three-Way-Switchable (Right/Left/OFF) Selective Reflection of Circularly Polarized Light on Solid Thin Films of
Yuuya Nagata1, Makoto Uno2, Michinori Suginome3
1Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan. nagata@sbchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Two poly(quinoxaline-2,3-diyl) copolymers bearing miscibility-enhancing 8-chlorooctyloxy and (S)-2-methylbutoxy or n-butoxy side chains were synthesized. After annealing in CHCl3 vapor, a polymer-blend film of these copolymers exhibited selective reflection of right-handed circularly polarized light (CPL) in the visible region. The handedness of the CPL reflected was completely inverted upon annealing of the film in THF vapor. Annealing in n-hexane vapor resulted in the phase separation of the polymer blend, which turned the selective reflection off. This three-way-switchable reflection, that is, reflection of right-handed or left-handed CPL, together with an OFF state, could be observed visually through right- and left-handed CPL filters.
