Photomechanics: directed bending of a polymer film by light.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 12968169.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Polymer solutions and solids that contain light-sensitive molecules can undergo photo-contraction, whereby light energy is converted into mechanical energy. Here we show that a single film of a liquid-crystal network containing an azobenzene chromophore can be repeatedly and precisely bent along any chosen direction by using linearly polarized light. This striking photomechanical effect results from a photoselective volume contraction and may be useful in the development of high-speed actuators for microscale or nanoscale applications, for example in microrobots in medicine or optical microtweezers.