title: Photoresponsive stripe pattern in achiral azobenzene liquid crystals.
abstract: A periodic stripe pattern is found in the nematic phase close to the smectic phase of photoresponsive achiral liquid-crystalline compounds. The origin of the stripe patterns can be ascribed to an extremely large bent elastic constant K33 . In addition, we succeeded in controlling the pattern by the following two methods: 1) the stripe disappears by a trans-cis photoisomerization upon UV light irradiation and reappears upon light termination, and 2) the stripe pattern is stabilized over the whole nematic phase, at approximately 10 °C, by polymerization of the compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522 (Japan). okano@applc.keio.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aya
authors.forename: Fumito
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Araoka
authors.forename: Haruki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.forename: Shiori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takezoe
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asakura
keywords: cybotactic cluster; liquid crystals; nematic phase; photochemistry; stripe pattern