Photoinduced isothermal phase transitions of liquid-crystalline macrocyclic azobenzenes.
Liquid-crystalline macrocyclic compounds, tethered by two or three azobenzenes bearing alkoxy side chains, exhibit isothermal phase transitions from liquid-crystal to isotropic as well as from crystal to isotropic phases upon light irradiation due to the drastic conformational change of their macrocyclic backbone.
Photonics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan. y-norikane@aist.go.jp
Yasuo
Y
Norikane
Yuki
Y
Hirai
Masaru
M
Yoshida