Excimer fluorescence as a probe into the solution behavior of a polyester of p-phenylenediacrylic acid

Two-dimensional correlation analysis study of the photo-induced molecular reorientations of photosensitive polyester film containing 1,4-phenylenediacryloyl units in the backbone

The photochemical reaction and molecular reorientation of a novel photosensitive polyester, poly[oxy(4-n-butyl-3,5-benzoate)oxy-1,4-phenylenediacryloyl] (PPDA-C4BZ), which contains n-butyl side groups and 1,4-phenylenediacryloyl units (PDA chromophores) in the main chain, are reported in detail. We applied two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis for the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectra of nanoscaled films of PPDA-C4BZ to establish the sequence of the photo-induced segmental reorientations that result from UV irradiation. The photochemical reaction was found to have a greater effect on the polymer's main chains than on its side groups and to induce the reorientation of the polymer molecules. In particular, a cycloaddition process occurs first in the PDA chromophore units and then the local reorientation of the polymer molecules is induced. Namely, such photodimerization of the PDA chromophores induces the molecular reorientations of the PDA chromophores and the benzoate units in the main chain. The photo-induced molecular reorientations occur in the following sequence: photodimerization --> benzoate units --> PDA chromophores --> n-butyl side groups. In addition, a two-dimensional map of the first derivatives of the UV absorption spectra with respect to the exposure energy provided evidence of the formation of head-to-head aggregates (i.e., H-aggregates) of PPDA-C4BZ molecules.

Surface-Mediated Photoalignment of Discotic Liquid Crystals on Azobenzene Polymer Films

This paper describes a simple strategy for the formation of photoaligned and micropatterned discotic liquid crystal (DLC) film on the surface of photoirradiated azobenzene-containing polymer thin film. The key material for the surface-mediated photoalignment of the DLCs was poly[4-(4-cyanophenylazo)phenyl methacrylate] (pMAzCN). Optical anisotropy was generated in a pMAzCN film by oblique exposure to nonpolarized light which resulted in angle-selective photoisomerization and reorientation of the azobenzenes. Subsequent annealing of the film at 240 degrees C enhanced the photoaligned state of the p-cyanoazobenzenes due to strong intermolecular dipole-dipole interaction and semicrystalline nature of the pMAzCN. This combination of photoirradiation and subsequent annealing of the pMAzCN film made it possible to realize the surface-assisted orientation control of a DLC molecule, which displays both columnar (Col) and discotic nematic (N(D)) phases over 152 degrees C. When the pMAzCN film was exposed to linearly polarized light from the surface normal, the DLC molecules showed homeotropic orientation with the director perpendicular to the substrate surface. In the contrast, oblique irradiation of the pMAzCN film with nonpolarized light gave rise to tilted DLC orientation with well-ordered optical birefringence at the N(D) phase. Rapid cooling from the N(D) phase produced a well-aligned glassy N(D) state at room temperature, which was adequately stable for 10 months even though no covalent cross-linking among the DLCs was performed. The spatial orientation of photoaligned DLCs in both their bulk film and in their interface region was characterized by means of optical birefringence, X-ray diffraction, and fluorescence measurements. At the N(D) phase, the DLC molecules were aligned in a hybrid manner such that their tilt angles varied throughout the thickness of DLC film. The direction of tilted DLCs was opposite to the propagation of the actinic nonpolarized light. The photoaligned DLC films exhibited polarized fluorescence emission with an s-polarized/p-polarized intensity ratio of 4.1, despite the nonpolarized excitation of only DLC at outmost surface. These results indicate that the three-dimensionally aligned azobenzene moieties of the pMAzCN thin film were transferred to the tilted DLC molecules at air/DLC interface. Finally, we demonstrated micrometer-scale photopatterned orientation of DLC molecules on the pMAzCN surface by oblique nonpolarized irradiation of the film through a photomask.