A new type of multifunctional material based on dual photochromism of ternary chiral photochromic liquid crystalline copolymers for optical data recording and storage

An approach for the development of a new class of multifunctional photochro mic liquid crystalline materials has been devised. Copolymerization of acry lic monomers allowed the preparation of ternary cholesteric copolymers cont aining nematogenic (phenyl benzoate), photochromic (azobenzene), and chiral photochromic side groups (benzylidene-p-menthanone). The phase behaviour a nd optical properties of such copolymers were studied. The synthesised copo lymers are characterised by selective light reflection in the visible or IR spectral regions depending on the composition of the copolymers. The photochemical and photooptical properties of the synthesised copolymers were studied. The character of the photochemical processes in the above co polymers was shown to be controlled by wavelength lambda of incident light: as a result of light irradiation with lambda=366 nm, films or dilute solut ions of copolymers experience E-Z photoisomerization of the azobenzene grou ps, whereas at lambda=313 nm, isomerization of both azobenzene and benzylid ene-p-menthanone groups takes place. The action of UV light on the plane oriented films of copolymers leads to t he E-Z isomerization of the chiral photochromic groups, and this isomerizat ion is accompanied by untwisting of the cholesteric helix and by a shift of the selective light reflection wavelength to a long wavelength spectral re gion. On the other hand, irradiation of such films by polarised light with lambda =514 nm leads to the appearance of induced birefringence due to the existen ce of azobenzene groups which are capable of isomerization. The synthesised copolymers were shown to constitute a new class of multifun ctional materials for data recording and storage.