Nakamura Hirona, Ishiyama Takuto, Sato Manabu, Tomida Kanako, Aizawa Miho, Hisano Kyohei, Nakano Wataru, Kubo Shoichi, Shishido Atsushi
Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan.
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
Langmuir. 2025 Apr 29;41(16):10552-10561. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c00624. Epub 2025 Apr 10.
The precise alignment control of polymer main chains and liquid crystals (LCs) is effective for fabricating high-performance functional coatings. Conventionally, polymer chain alignment is regulated by mechanical stretching or flow fields; however, these approaches are inherently limited to one-dimensional alignment. Our recent discovery demonstrates that spatiotemporal photopolymerization using scanning light generates flow fields, a process termed scanning wave photopolymerization (SWaP). In this study, we explored the potential of SWaP for achieving precise microscale control over polymer main chain alignment. One-dimensional scanning of light induced uniaxial alignment of both polymer main chains and side-chain LC molecules. Thermal analysis of the resulting coating revealed that the high degree of polymer main-chain alignment in the coating recovered its original LC alignment upon cooling after thermal disordering, demonstrating excellent thermal stability. Furthermore, the most thermodynamically stable configuration of the polymer main chains depended on the LC phase. By designing the shape of the light, we successfully achieved two-dimensional alignment of polymer main chains at the microscale. This approach represents a foundational technology for the development of functional materials through molecular alignment control.
聚合物主链与液晶（LC）的精确取向控制对于制备高性能功能涂层非常有效。传统上，聚合物链的取向是通过机械拉伸或流场来调节的；然而，这些方法本质上仅限于一维取向。我们最近的发现表明，使用扫描光的时空光聚合会产生流场，这一过程被称为扫描波光聚合（SWaP）。在本研究中，我们探索了SWaP在实现对聚合物主链取向进行精确微观控制方面的潜力。光的一维扫描诱导了聚合物主链和侧链LC分子的单轴取向。对所得涂层的热分析表明，涂层中高度取向的聚合物主链在热无序后冷却时恢复了其原始的LC取向，显示出优异的热稳定性。此外，聚合物主链最热力学稳定的构型取决于LC相。通过设计光的形状，我们成功地在微观尺度上实现了聚合物主链的二维取向。这种方法代表了一种通过分子取向控制来开发功能材料的基础技术。
