We demonstrate a new type of anisotropy in thin films of amorphous azobenzene polymers induced between 570 and 633 nm, where the absorbance in the film is on the order of 0.05. The anisotropy has a pronounced radial contribution. This observation points to an additional mechanism for the alignment of azobenzene molecules.

An azobenzene-containing heteropolymer gel in an ionic liquid exhibits thermally reversible volume phase transition when the azobenzene moiety mainly exists in the cis-state, whereas the transition becomes irreversible when it is in the trans-state and an interlocked collapsed state is stabilized; however, the unlocking of the metastable state occurs by UV light irradiation.

A single photomechanical supramolecular nanowire actuator with an azobenzene-containing 1,3,5-tricarboxamide derivative is developed by employing a direct writing method. Single nanowires display photoinduced reversible bending and the bending behavior follows first-order kinetics associated with azobenzene photoisomerization. A wireless photomechanical nanowire tweezers that remotely manipulat...

Reversible assembly of Janus particles was manipulated by host-guest interaction of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and azobenzene. One side of every Janus particle was modified with β-CD. Superstructures of Janus particles were formed by adding azobenzene-containing polymers to the dispersion of Janus particles. The superstructures were reversibly disassembled by adding α-CD or light irradiation.

Reversibly-photoswitchable gold nanoparticles containing azobenzene and exhibiting a light response "virtually identical" to that of the free chromophore were achieved by self-assembling a host-guest inclusion complex between alpha-cyclodextrin and an azobenzene-terminated alkanethiol in an aqueous medium.

The use of non-ionic LC phases as anisotropic matrices for E/Z-isomerization of azo-guest molecules is often restricted due to limited solubilities and demixing effects. In this study we therefore employed an ionic liquid crystal (ILC) matrix to follow the photo-induced E/Z-isomerization of ionic mesogenic azobenzene guanidinium guests. The latter were prepared from 4-hydroxy-4'-(octyloxy)azobe...

some organic molecules can be isomerized upon photoirradiation and when accompanied by a change in the visible absorption spectrum, it is called photochromism. azobenzenes are important part of molecular machines and nanotechnology, which are this phenomenon is called photoisomerization azobenzene (azo) chromophores , and have been incorporated into a wide variety of materials and molecular arc...

The synthesis and aggregation behavior of photo-switchable, nonionic dendritic amphiphiles was investigated with regard to transport and release of guest molecules. The correlation between the critical micelle concentration and the switching ability is shown.

We report a comprehensive experimental study of photoinduced processes in azobenzene-containing liquid-crystalline polymer. The kinetic and optical characteristics of the photoisomerization reaction and photo-orientation process have been determined. The spin probe technique has been used to elucidate the details of orientation order and rotational mobility of molecular fragments within the liq...

Detailed kinetic investigations of the most common photoswitchable spiropyran, 6-nitro-BIPS, reveal that hydrolytic decomposition of its merocyanine isomer limits its utility in aqueous buffer; however, simple replacement of the 6-nitro substituent with an 8-carboxylate yields a BIPS photoswitch that is potentially better suited for biological applications.