Easy Processable Photomechanical Thin Film Involving a Photochromic Diarylethene and a Thermoplastic Elastomer in Supramolecular Interaction
A novel supramolecular photoactuator in the form of a thin film of centimetric size has been developed as an alternative to traditional liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) involving azobenzene (AZO) units or photochromic microcrystals. This thin film is produced through spin coating without the need for alignment or crosslinking. The photoactuator combines a photochromic dithienylethene (DTE) functionalized with ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) units, and a telechelic thermoplastic elastomer, also functionalized with UPy, allowing quadruple hydrogen bonding between the two components. Upon alternating ultraviolet (UV) and visible light exposure, the film exhibits reversible bending and color changes, studied using displacement and absorption tracking setups. For the first time, the photomechanical effect (PME) is quantitatively correlated with photochromism, showing that DTE units drive the movement under both UV (photocyclization) and visible (photoreversion) light. In situ illumination techniques reveal that the PME arises from photoinduced strain within 160 nm UPy-bonded DTE domains, which expand and contract by approximately 50% under UV and visible light, respectively. The semicrystalline nature of the elastomer and a robust supramolecular network connecting both components are critical in converting microscopic photostrain into macroscopic actuation.
Authors
- Gilles Alcaraz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8705-5917)
- M. Naït‐Abdelaziz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6541-2899)
- Sophie Barrau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4790-9994)
- David Fournier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6791-6131)
- Stéphane Aloïse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1894-8775)
- Nour Nour Eddine
- Laurent Bouteiller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7613-7028)
- Alexandre Fadel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7282-8649)
- Sandrine Pensec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4379-0180)
- Jean‐François Tahon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5799-9586)
- Michinori Takeshita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4956-3034)
- G. Buntinx (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2138-7561)
- Ismael Arroyo
- Rebeca Cedeño
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Saga University (JP)
- Université de Lille (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (FR)
- Laboratoire de Spectroscopie pour les Interactions, la Réactivité et l'Environnement (FR)
- Unité Matériaux et Transformations (FR)
- Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire (FR)
- Unité de Mécanique de Lille - Joseph Boussinesq
- Institut Michel-Eugène Chevreul (FR)
- Université d'Artois (FR)
- Université de Rennes (FR)
- École Centrale de Lille (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2024-08-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202402131
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Photochromic and Fluorescence Chemistry
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.35
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Institut Chevreul