Hybrid silicate materials derived from organo-bridged silsesquioxane precursors, RO3-Si-R'-Si-OR3, where R and R' are organic ligands, represent a remarkably diverse class of nanocomposites capable of forming both Si-O-Si and Si-C-Si bonds with molecular scale homogeneity. Recently, in an effort to better control their structure and function, surfactant-directed self-assembly or self-directed a...

We have made a diffraction grating in an indoline azobenzene/amorphous polycarbonate film by two-beam interference at 532 nm that periodically photodegrades the indoline azobenzene dye. Subsequent illumination of the film with 532-nm light into the trans-isomer band leads to trans-cis isomerization in the indoline azobenzene dye and results in a decrease in the trans-isomer band absorption coef...

Azobenzenes have the unique ability to undergo reversible isomerization between two geometrical isomers (the straight trans form and the bent cis) when exposed to certain wavelengths of light, which provide energy for the change. Thus, when embedded in liquid crystal matrices, azobenzene derivatives can function as optically triggered switches regulating, for example, membrane permeability to g...

Chemically modified aptamers have recently emerged as important materials for nucleic acid based therapeutics and diagnostic tools. Here, we report in vitro evolution of azobenzene-modified DNA by capillary electrophoresis (CE)-SELEX method. Azobenzene has been considered to be a fascinating functional group due its trans–cis photo-isomerization property. We harnessed C5-azobenzene-modified 2?-...

Azobenzene-containing compounds were covalently attached onto Si(111) surfaces via Si-O linkages using a two-step procedure. The modified Si(111) surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy measurements. The monolayer surface showed preferably chemical stability. Switchable photoisomerizability of azobenzene molecules...

A novel mechanism of photo-orientation of azobenzene-containing liquid-crystalline materials is proposed. This mechanism is based on the notion of photochemically induced domain rearrangement driven by destabilization of liquid-crystalline phase in light absorbing domains due to photochemical formation of non-mesogenic cis-azobenzene moieties. The experimental evidence of photoinduced movement ...

Optically active binaphthyl-azobenezene cyclic dyads were synthesized to develop a photochromic switching molecule. Azobenezene moieties were cis-trans isomerized by photoirradiation. As a reflection of the structural change, the specific optical rotation and circular dichroism underwent significant shifts. Under certain conditions, the positive-negative and zero-positive (or zero-negative) sig...

The photoinduced 3D orientational structures in films of a liquid crystalline polyester, containing azobenzene side groups, are studied both experimentally and theoretically. By using the null ellipsometry and the UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, the preferential in-plane alignment of the azobenzene fragments and in-plane reorientation under irradiation with linearly polarized UV light are estab...

In the past decade, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have received a great deal of attention for their fundamental importance in understanding interfacial properties as well as for their potential applications in molecular technologies. SAMs have been used in the design of various interfaces for chemical sensors, nonlinear optical materials, optical switches, and high density memory devices. Th...

We synthesized calix[4]resorcinarenes bearing various azobenzene dendron conjugates as side chains, wherein the azobenzene moiety is a photoresponsive unit and the dendron moiety is a capsule-destabilizing unit, and then studied the photoresponsive properties of their self-assembled hexameric capsules in conjunction with guest encapsulation in H2O-saturated CDCl3. It was found that correlation ...