Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Fundamental and Frontier Sciences in Nanostructure Self-Assembly Center, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
Molecules. 2020 Jun 2;25(11):2579. doi: 10.3390/molecules25112579.
In the search for novel smart multifunctional liquid crystalline materials, we report the synthesis, thermal and structural characterisation, and the conductivity, of a set of new block and statistical copolymers, containing light-responsive mesogenic groups (MeOAzB), polar sulfonic acids (AMPS), and methyl(methacrylate) groups (MMA). By using a cascade of reversible addition-fragmentation chain polymerisations, RAFT, we have tailored different side-chain polymeric structures by controlling monomer composition (MeOAzB/AMPS/MMA) and configuration. We have yielded simultaneous liquid crystalline behaviour and appreciable conductivity in polymers with low concentrations of polar acid groups, by the formation of smectic phases in narrow aggregates. The light-responsiveness of the polymers, via reversible -to- photoisomerization of azobenzene groups, and the local activation of conductivity at relatively low temperatures, opens the possibility to prepare polymer electrolytes for energy conversion and storage, whose conductivity could be controlled and optimised by external stimuli, including light irradiation.
在寻找新型智能多功能液晶材料的过程中，我们报告了一系列新型嵌段和统计共聚物的合成、热性能和结构特性，以及它们的电导率。这些共聚物含有光响应介晶基团（MeOAzB）、极性磺酸（AMPS）和甲基（甲基丙烯酸酯）基团（MMA）。通过使用一系列可逆加成-断裂链转移聚合（RAFT），我们通过控制单体组成（MeOAzB/AMPS/MMA）和构型，精细调控了不同的侧链聚合物结构。通过在窄聚集体中形成近晶相，我们在具有低浓度极性酸基团的聚合物中实现了低浓度下的同时液晶行为和可观的电导率。聚合物的光响应性通过偶氮苯基团的可逆光异构化以及在相对较低温度下局部激活电导率，为制备用于能量转换和存储的聚合物电解质开辟了可能性，其电导率可以通过外部刺激（包括光照）进行控制和优化。
