Enhancement of molecular mobility in solid polymers by light: fundamentals and applications

Materials containing photoactive molecules are of great importance in applications in switching, data storage, holography, integrated optics, nonlinear optics, actuation, and light to mechanical energy transduction. In particular, the photoactive molecules confer to polymers the possibility of undergoing molecular and macroscopic motion at temperatures far below the glass transition temperature (T-g); a feature, which alleviates the need for heating to near T-g to, for example, induce molecular orientation and motion. Sub-T-g molecular motion is frozen without light absorption. We provide an overview of enhancement of molecular mobility in solid polymers by light, and we discuss its application in polymer photomechanics and photo-orientation leading to mass motion and surface morphology structuring and actuation, and to linear and nonlinear optical effects.

Automated summary

This article provides an overview of enhancement of molecular mobility in solid polymers by light and discusses its applications in polymer photomechanics and photo-orientation.