title: Bistable ferroelectric liquid crystal photoswitch triggered by a dithienylethene dopant.
abstract: The spontaneous polarization (PS) of a ferroelectric liquid crystal is modulated reversibly by photocyclization of the dopant 1,2-bis[5'-(4' '-heptyloxyphenyl)-2'-methylthien-3'-yl]perfluorocyclopentene. The magnitude of PS photomodulation increases with dopant concentration up to 3 mol %, and the resulting photoswitch is fatigue resistant and bistable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a bistable ferroelectric liquid crystal photoswitch to be reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Kenneth E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Maly
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wand
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Lemieux