Regimes in the Response of Photomechanical Materials

Photomechanical materials perform mechanical work in response to illumination. Photoisomerization-based photomechanical materials may operate in different regimes depending on the intensity of the illuminating light. We examine the photoresponse of liquid crystalline azo-acrylate networks and show that a material property, the characteristic intensity of the material, defines the boundaries between different regimes. Asymptotic analysis indicates that whereas at low relative light levels, photostress is proportional to intensity, at high levels, it is proportional to fluence. Model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Automated summary

Photomechanical materials, such as liquid crystalline azo-acrylate networks, show different photoresponse regimes depending on the intensity of illumination. The characteristic intensity of the material determines the boundaries between these regimes.