Versatility of photoalignment techniques: From nematics to a wide range of functional materials

Alignment methods of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) by surface photoreactions on substrate surfaces were initially proposed around 1990, and the photoalignment technology of nematic LCs has recently been integrated into the LC device fabrication industry due to its profitable features. Accumulated ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer (Guilford) 2013-10, Vol.54 (22), p.6053-6072
Main Authors: Seki, Takahiro, Nagano, Shusaku, Hara, Mitsuo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Block copolymers
Chromonic liquid crystals
composite polymers
crystals
Exact sciences and technology
gels
industry
Inorganic–organic mesohybrids
Liquid crystals
Photoalignment
Physicochemistry of polymers
Polymer orientation
Polymers and radiations
Properties and characterization
semiconductors
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Summary:Alignment methods of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) by surface photoreactions on substrate surfaces were initially proposed around 1990, and the photoalignment technology of nematic LCs has recently been integrated into the LC device fabrication industry due to its profitable features. Accumulated efforts in this field have revealed that applications of photoalignment processes are not limited to conventional nematic LCs but that a variety of functional materials can also be manipulated according to this principle. Target materials have now been extended to thermotropic smectic LCs, discotic LCs, LC polymers, block copolymers, gel networks, conjugated polymers, and organic semiconductors and lyotropic systems including chromonic LCs and inorganic–organic mesostructured hybrids. Through these photochemical approaches, many types of photopatterning for both topographical and orientational modulations have become feasible. This article reviews photoalignment processes applied to a wide range of materials, surveying relatively recent work. Some important related alignment and patterning processes are also introduced to clarify the significance of these photoalignment techniques. [Display omitted]
ISSN:0032-3861
1873-2291
DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2013.08.058