Optical Storage in Azobenzene-Containing Epoxy Polymers Processed as Langmuir-Blodgett Films

R. FERNÁNDEZ; IÑAKI MONDRAGON; R. SAN FELICE; FELIPPE J PAVINATTO ; OSVALDO N. OLIVEIRA JR.; PATRICIA A. OYANGUREN; MARÍA J. GALANTE

MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING. C, BIOMIMETIC MATERIALS, SENSORS AND SYSTEMS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 33 p. 1403 - 1408

0928-4931

Langmuir films of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) with an azo dye, 4-[4-(phenylazo)-1-naphthylazo]phenol (Disperse Orange 13, DO13), hydrogen-bonded to the pyridine group of P4VP blocks were investigated. The surface pressure isotherms were considerably different for the copolymer dissolved in a nonselective (chloroform) and selective (toluene) solvents. The Langmuir? Blodgett (LB) and Langmuir?Schaefer (LS) films produced with PS-b-P4VP(DO13) copolymers displayed higher optically induced birefringence than the cast films owing to their nanostructured nature. The photoinduced birefringence properties were particularly enhanced when toluene was used owing to the confinement of azo chromophores in micelles consisting of a P4VP core and a PS corona.