Synthesis and characterization of azobenzene-containing side-chain photorefractive polymers

The synthesis and characterization of some new high-T-g photorefractive polymers, polyphosphazene P3-P8, were described. They were obtained via a post-azo coupling reaction. The resulting materials have been characterized by means of H-1 NMR, P-31 NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis, GPC and DSC. Chromophore contents up to 14 mol% have been realized. The polymers had high glass transition temperatures and good optical transparency. Measurements reveal that they possess relatively large magnitude of photoinduced birefringence. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.