Photoalignment of an azobenzene-based chromonic liquid crystal dispersed in triacetyl cellulose: single-layer alignment films with an exceptionally high order parameter.

Single-layer thin alignment films of dye molecules are of growing importance, particularly for state-of-the-art LCD technology. Here we show that a sequential process involving the photoalignment and humidification of a chromonic liquid crystalline azobenzene (brilliant yellow; BY) dispersed in a triacetyl cellulose (TAC) matrix gives a thin alignment film with an exceptionally high order parameter (0.81). Spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction analyses of a BY/TAC composite film in each alignment process revealed that brief humidification triggers restructuring of the BY assembly from 1D nematic-like order to anisotropic 2D columnar order, resulting in the dramatic increase in the order parameter.