Measurement of the Transition Temperature Governing the Photoinduced Reversible Solid-to-Liquid Transition of Azobenzene-Containing Polymers AITranslate

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DOI：https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.3c01256

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The ability to observe photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transitions for some polymers bearing photo-active azobenzene groups (azopolymers) has become a competitive research field in materials science and technology because of their potential applications in photocontrolled adhesives, photohealable materials, or soft lithography. Unfortunately, methods to accurately characterize this transition are scarce and mainly qualitative, which limits the understanding of the parameters governing it. In the first part of this paper, we will show that the photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transition can be associated to a transition temperature (named TSL). This transition temperature can be accurately measured using a scanning probe microscopy-based method. Then, the measurement of TSL on azopolymers with different chemical structures will allow us to understand why the experimental irradiation conditions to observe the solid-to-liquid transition were different. With the possibility to accurately characterize the photoinduced solid-to-liquid transition, we believe that this work paves the way to the optimization of azopolymer design for a better photocontrol of their mechanical properties.