A simple synthesis for epoxy-based crosslinkable azo-polymers for reversible optical storage

A. B. OROFINO; ZUCCHI I.; GALANTE M.J; OYANGUREN P. A.

Bogotá

Simposio; XIII Simposio Latinoamericano de Polímeros; 2012

Universidad Nacional Colombia

Azobenzene containing epoxy networks are a class of photosensitive materials characterized by high thermal, optical and mechanical stability, promising for reversible optical storage applications. The synthesis and characterization of a series of azo-thermoplastics from the simple bulk reaction of an azo-amine and an epoxy resin were developed. Thin films based on these precursors were prepared, and crosslinked in order to obtain high-Tg materials. The optical response of the materials was determined, both before and after crosslinking.  In the case of the samples as prepared, the dynamic time response of the system is fast, as well as the relaxation of the photoinduced birefringence, as expected due to the high mobility of the chromophore. On the other hand, crosslinked systems have a slightly slower response, but higher values of remnant birefringence, providing stability of the photoinduced orientation, what makes them promising materials for use in optical storage applications.