Photoinduced circular anisotropy in a photochromic W-shaped-molecule-doped polymeric liquid crystal film.
Photoinduced circular anisotropy has been demonstrated in thin films of a main-chain polymeric liquid crystal (PLC) system doped with photochromic W-shaped molecules containing two azobenzene groups by irradiating with circularly polarized light (CPL). Reversible photoinduced circular dichroism (CD) was observed with sign relevant to the handedness of the CPL. The experimentally observed CD spectra were analyzed using the DeVoe polarizability model associated with the coupled oscillator method. We also propose a mechanism for the photoinduced circular anisotropy in our system; nucleating the W-shaped molecules with preferential twisted conformation by CPL irradiation, and triggering the local formation of a chiral structure in the W-shaped-molecule-doped main-chain PLC medium.
Choi
Suk-Won
SW
Department of Organic & Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
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N Y
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Shiromo
Kazuaki
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Rao
Nandiraju V S
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Paul
Manoj Kr
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Toyooka
Takehiro
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Nishimura
Suzushi
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Wu
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Park
Byoungchoo
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Takanishi
Yoichi
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Ishikawa
Ken
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Takezoe
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