Recent years, the researches on the photoinduced deformaion behavior of high performance polymers containing azobenzene groups have received much attention due to their excellent thermal stability and good mechanical properties. However, the photoinduced deformation rates of the azobenzene-containing high performance polymers need to be improved. It has been found that increasing the free volume of azobenzene-containing high performance polymers was helpful for increasing their photoindcued deformation rate. Binaphthalene group is a contorted substrate which lead to rigid and contorted structure, resulting in high free volume. In this work, a series of azobenzene-containing poly(arylene ether)s with different contents of binaphthalene groups were synthesized. Under the irradiation of 442 nm unpolarized laser, the cantilevers of the azobenzene-containing poly(arylene ether)s could undergo photoinduced deformation. The photoinduced deformation rates increased with the contents of binaphthalene groups of the polymers. Under 442nm linear polarized laser irradiation, the cantilevers of the polymers have showed self-recoverable photoinduced deformation behavior. When the polarization direction of the polarized laser was perpendicular to the long axis of the cantilevers, the cantilevers bent away from the excitation laser at the beginning, then bent and returned to the starting position. The angles of the cantilevers bent away from the excitation laser increased with the contents of binaphthalene groups of the polymers. The interesting photoinduced deformation phenomenon has not been reported in other azobenzene-containing high performance polymers. In addition, the photoinduced deformation rates of the cantilevers of the polymers also increased with the flexibility of the polymer chain.

Self-recoverable photoinduced deformation behavior ofbazobenzene-containing poly(arylene ether)s with binaphthalene groups

ACS Spring 2022

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