Issue 37, 2017

Unidirectional rotation of cholesteric droplets driven by UV-light irradiation

Abstract

We investigated the novel photo-induced dynamics of azobenzene-doped cholesteric (Ch) droplets coexisting with the isotropic (Iso) phase. When the hemispherical Ch droplets initially stuck to glass substrates were irradiated by UV-light, they were parted from the substrates due to the surface disordering caused by the photo-isomerization of azobenzene. Then, the spherical droplets floating in the Iso phase exhibited an unexpected motion – a continuous and unidirectional rotation along the light propagation direction. The rotational direction was reversed by the inversion of either the sample's chirality or the UV irradiation direction, and the rotational velocity increased with both the UV-light intensity and the concentration of the doped azobenzene, the dependences of which were described by linear and relaxation functions, respectively. We proposed a possible scenario based on Leslie's theory combining mass fluxes and torques, which well explained the photo-driven rotation of the Ch droplets.

Graphical abstract: Unidirectional rotation of cholesteric droplets driven by UV-light irradiation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 May 2017
Accepted
29 Aug 2017
First published
30 Aug 2017

Soft Matter, 2017,13, 6569-6575

Unidirectional rotation of cholesteric droplets driven by UV-light irradiation

S. Bono, S. Sato and Y. Tabe, Soft Matter, 2017, 13, 6569 DOI: 10.1039/C7SM00982H

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