Photoinduced supramolecular chirality in glassy nematic linear and star shaped methacrylic azopolymers obtained by ATRP

Abstract

The induction of chirality in achiral liquid crystalline azoaromatic polymers with circularly polarized light (CPL) has been studied on well-defined macromolecular derivatives with different molecular structures, synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Two methacrylic homopolymers have been investigated: a linear and a three arms star polymer. Both the polymeric samples are featured by low polydispersity and similar average polymerization degree, so that structure-properties correlations are made possible. Irradiation with CPL of one handed rotation sense of casted films and a planar cell of these polymers in the glassy nematic phase allowed to ascertain by UV-Vis and CD spectroscopy the formation of a supramolecular chiral structure with high chirality induced into the material. The results are interpreted in terms of the structural features of the polymers.