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Polymer Program Seminar


Searching for New Photoactive and Self-Assembled Polymer/Liquid Crystal Materials


Prof. Yue Zhao

University of Sherbrooke, Canada


Friday, December 3, 2004
11:00 am , IMS Room 20



ABSTRACT

The reversible trans-cis photoisomerization of azo chromophores was used to design and exploit novel photoactive materials based on polymers and liquid crystals. I will review our recent studies on several systems ranging from polymers to polymer/liquid crystal composites. These include thermoplastic elastomers that can be used to prepare mechanically tunable diffraction gratings, amphiphilic block copolymers that can form light-responsive micelles and vesicles, liquid crystalline ionomers in which the presence of some metal ions can improve the optical properties, and azo polymer-stabilized liquid crystals that can form both electrically and optically switchable diffraction gratings.


  • Coffee will be served at 10:45 outside the seminar room.
  • For further information, please contact YoungHee Chudy at ychudy@ims.uconn.edu . or (860) 486-3582 .

This seminar series is sponsored by a generous grant from U.S. Surgical Corporation.