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

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

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XVI Latin-American Polymer Symposium (SLAP 2018), XIV Iberoamerican Polymer Congress (CIP 2018) Mar del Plata, Argentina, 6th ? 9th November 2018; 2018

INTEMA

In recent years, using light to induce shape change has received a lot of attention because light can be controlled both remotely and instantly [1]. Responsive chromophores, such as azobenzene, allow the material to convert light energy into mechanical work because of the transformation between two geometrically different azobenzene isomers upon light irradiation.These changes are attributed to the reversible and repeatable isomerisation of the azobenzene chromophores. Irradiation with UV light converts thethermodynamically more stable trans azobenzene to its less stable cis form. The geometrical and polarity changes that occur through this conversion can betransferred into macroscopic level, when the azo molecules are attached to a polymeric backbone, and affect the whole polymeric matrix properties [2].Here we report the synthesis and self-assembly of a photoactive azobenzene-bridged silsesquioxane displaying various photomechanical, shape memory,and self-healing properties because of the azobenzene molecules.