Reversible alignment change of liquid crystals induced by photochromic molecular films: Properties of azobenzene chromophores covalently attached to silica surfaces

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Abstract
In connection with the mechanism of reversible alignment change of nematic liquid crystals induced by photoisomerizable azobenzene molecules attached to a quartz surface, a static contact angle measurement was carried out for azo-modified plates before and after UV irradiation. The results were not in line with the so-called Friedel-Creagh-Kmetz rule which claims that the alignment is governed by a mutual relationship between a substrate surface energy and surface tension of a liquid crystal. On the other hand, electronic absorption spectra of the plate demonstrated that the ratio of an absorbance at around 340 nm to that at around 240 nm of the azo-chromophore on the surface is reduced by wetting the surface with a UV-transparent nematic liquid crystal. This reflects that the surface azobenzene units are induced to stand approximately perpendicular to the surface upon contact with the liquid crystal. Further discussion is made concerning the photo-induced homogeneous alignment triggered by a rubbed and azo-modified quartz plate determined by polarized absorption spectroscopy.