Controlling the color of cholesteric liquid-crystalline films by photoirradiation of a chiroptical molecular switch used as dopant

Using thin films of a cholesteric mixture of acrylates 2 and 3 doped with the chiroptical molecular switch (M)-trans-1, photo-control of the reflection color between red and green is possible. This doped liquid-crystal (LC) film can be used for photoinduced writing, color reading, and photoinduced locking (via polymerization) of chiral, optically written information.