Photoinduced Alignment of Polymer Liquid Crystals Containing Azobenzene Moieties in the Side Chain. 1. Effect of Light Intensity on Alignment Behavior

Polydomain films of liquid crystalline polymer (MACB- AB6) with low content (6 mol %) of azobenzene units were prepared and irradiated with linearly polarized light at 366 nm, thus inducing an alignment of the photochromic side groups as well as the nonphotoactive mesogens, the cyanobiphenyl groups. An induced order parameter, S, was obtained from polarized UV and IR spectroscopy, and it increased with increase in temperature at first and then …