Photoinduced Self-healing in Self-Assembled Azobenzene-Bridged Silsesquioxanes

LUCIANA M. SÁIZ; PATRICIA OYANGUREN; GUSTAVO ARENAS; ILEANA A. ZUCCHI; MARÍA J. GALANTE

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI Latin-American Polymer Symposium, XIV Iberoamican Polymer Congress; 2018

INTEMA

In recent years, using light to induce shape change hasreceived a lot of attention because light can becontrolled both remotely and instantly [1]. Responsivechromophores, such as azobenzene, allow the materialto convert light energy into mechanical work becauseof the transformation between two geometricallydifferent azobenzene isomers upon light irradiation.These changes are attributed to the reversible andrepeatable isomerisation of the azobenzenechromophores. Irradiation with UV light converts thethermodynamically more stable trans azobenzene toits less stable cis form. The geometrical and polaritychanges that occur through this conversion can betransferred into macroscopic level, when the azomolecules are attached to a polymeric backbone, andaffect the whole polymeric matrix properties [2].Here we report the synthesis and self-assembly of aphotoactive azobenzene-bridged silsesquioxanedisplaying various photomechanical, shape memory,and self-healing properties because of the azobenzenemolecules.