A Main-Chain Liquid-Crystalline Oligomer Prepared by in situ Photopolymerization of an LC Monomer Having Cinnamate Moieties

Solution [2 + 2] photopolymerization of biomass-derived nonrigid biscinnamate monomers enabled by energy transfer catalysis

Visible light-mediated [2 + 2] photopolymerization of nonrigid biscinnamate monomers has been realized in solution via energy transfer catalysis, featuring its operation simplicity, controllability, and a general monomer scope.

Reversible bulk-phase change of anthroyl compounds for photopatterning based on photodimerization in the molten state and thermal back reaction

As new organic materials for rewritable photopatterning, 2-anthroyl and 9-anthroyl ester compounds were synthesized. Their bulk-phase changes (we use "bulk-phase change" as complete phase change in a mass of a material neither in a surface nor in a small quantity in this study) triggered by photodimerization under melting conditions (melt-photodimerization) and subsequent thermal back reactions were investigated. All the anthroyl compounds exhibited melting points lower than ca. 160 °C, and they were nearly quantitatively converted to the corresponding photodimers by UV irradiation at temperatures of ∼5 °C higher than their respective melting points. We found that there were two kinds of bulk-phase change behaviors through the photoreaction. Two of the anthroyl compounds remained isotropic and lost fluidity during the melt-photodimerization. The obtained photodimers exhibited robust solid-state amorphous phases at room temperature. In contrast, the other three anthroyl compounds showed crystallization during the melt-photodimerization. The resulting photodimers changed from isotropic to crystalline phases, even at high temperature. Various experiments revealed that the bulk phase of the photodimers was affected not by the existence of regioisomers but by their fluidity at the photoirradiation temperature. The latter three photodimers retained enough fluidity, reflecting their high molecular mobilities at the photoirradiation temperature at which the isothermal crystallization occurred. The other two products were not able to crystallize due to low fluidity, resulting in amorphous phases. We also found that all the photodimers reverted to the corresponding monomers by thermal back reaction and recovered their initial photochemical and thermal properties. Using these reversible bulk-phase changes of the anthroyl compounds, we successfully demonstrated rewritable photopatterning in not only negative images but also positive ones, based on the optical contrast between the ordered and disordered phases.

Solid-State Photoreversible Polymerization of n-Alkyl-Linked Bis-Thymines using Non-Covalent Polymer-Templating

Procedures derived from bioinspired mechanisms are increasingly being used to create novel materials based on the principles of green chemistry. Thymine, a nucleic acid base in DNA, has the propensity to both hydrogen bond and photodimerize. Photodimerization of thymine occurs when irradiated at wavelengths of >270 nm and can be reversed by irradiation at wavelengths of <250 nm. In this investigation, n-alkyl-linked bis-thymines have been supramolecularly aligned with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) templates by non-covalent hydrogen bonding, and photopolymerized in the solid state. Photo-depolymerization of the products was performed to complete the reversible polymerization.