Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: The illumination of azobenzene molecules with UV/visible light efficiently converts the molecules between trans and cis isomerization states. Isomerization is accompanied by a large photo‐induced molecular motion, which is able to significantly affect the physical and chemical properties of the materials in which they are incorporated. In some material systems, the nanoscopic structural movement of the isomerizing azobenzene molecules can be even propagated at macroscopic spatial scales. Reversible large‐scale superficial photo‐patterning and mechanical photo‐actuation are efficiently achieved in azobenzene‐containing glassy materials and liquid crystalline elastomers, respectively. This review covers several aspects related to the phenomenology and the applications of the light‐driven macroscopic effects observed in these two classes of azomaterials, highlighting many of the possibilities they offer in different fields of science, like photonics, biology, surface engineering and robotics.
Source: Nanophotonics
Institutions: University of Naples Federico II, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,995
OpenAlex ID: W2884381833