Photoswitching of ferroelectric liquid crystals using photochromic dopants.

This review focuses on the development of photochromic dopants designed to trigger the switching of ferroelectric liquid crystals photomodulation of the spontaneous polarization (). The photomodulation of has been achieved by reducing the polar order of a FLC host the change in shape of azobenzene dopants upon - photoisomerization, and the loss of conformational flexibility of dithienylethene dopants upon photocyclization. It has also been achieved by increasing the polarization power of chiral thioindigo dopants in achiral SmC hosts a photoinduced change in transverse dipole moment. A photoinversion of the sign of has been achieved using an "ambidextrous" thioindigo dopant with two competing chiral side-chains that induce polarizations of opposite handedness.