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Applied Sciences
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Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications
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Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 November 2022) | Viewed by 10064

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mark G. Kuzyk

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Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2814, USA
Interests: nonlinear optics; photomechanics; self-healing materials; smart morphing materials; light/matter interactions; dye-doped polymer fiber; quantum origins of nonlinear susceptibilities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Elena Boldyreva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Novosibirsk State University, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
Interests: reactivity of solids; high pressure; mechanochemistry; photomechanical effects; photocrystallography; NLO materials; chirality
Prof. Dr. Zouheir Sekkat

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohamed V in Rabat, Rabat BP 1014; Optics and Photonics Center, MAScIR, University Mohamed VI, Polytechnic, Rabat BP 10100, Morocco
Interests: photoreactive and smart materials; azo-polymers; photochemistry; photomechanics; nonlinear optics; plasmonics; waveguide optics
Dr. Nathan J. Dawson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawaii Pacific University, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
Interests: biolasing; nonlinear optics; photomechanical materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on light-driven materials, with properties and functionality that change under the action of light, spans fundamental science, materials development, and devices for a broad range of applications with integration aimed at building intelligent systems. Research efforts include works that seek to understand the origin of the response, synthetic efforts to make novel materials that best respond to light with the desired action, new materials that demonstrate novel functionality, and process development for the fabrication of integrating devices. Materials that have a nonlinear optical and photomechanical response, for example, could provide the platform for making the next generation of smart materials that intelligently change shape in response to external stimuli, are remotely controllable with light, act independently, and are immune to external electromagnetic interference.

This Special Issue seeks papers on: (1) studies of the mechanisms of a photoactive response—such as a light-induced shape change—and how molecular-level properties can be harnessed to induce large macroscopic shape-shifting; (2) the development of new materials with unique photo-responsive properties, ranging from crystals to polymers and composite materials with properties that take advantage of each constituent to yield functionality that exceeds the sum of its parts; (3) the development of processes to make structures useful for applications such as optical waveguides, patterned films, and fibers; (4) the demonstration of novel devices as proof of concept; (5) integrating components to evaluate the possibility of making smart structures; (6) designs of new experiments and the characterization of materials, composites, and devices; and (7) developing theories and models of (a) the microscopic mechanisms, (b) relationships between measured quantities and the desired quantities, and (c) the operation of devices that strongly react with each other and/or operate with feedback.

Prof. Dr. Mark Kuzyk
Prof. Dr. Elena Boldyreva
Prof. Dr. Zouheir Sekkat
Dr. Nathan J. Dawson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart morphing materials
  • light-driven materials
  • photomechanical effect
  • dye-doped and functionalized polymers
  • crystals
  • elastomers
  • polymeric networks
  • liquid crystals
  • optical feedback
  • polymer fibers
  • multifunctional materials
  • interocular lenses
  • light guide optics

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 1226 KiB  
Communication
Photomechanical Solid Polymers: Model for Pressure and Strain Induced by Photoisomerization and Photo-Orientation
by Zouheir Sekkat
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13010321 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1622
Abstract
Photoactive polymers are important for fundamental studies and applications in several area of photonics such as data storage and holography and nonlinear optics and photomechanics. The latter is perhaps one of the most important applications of such materials, since they act as light [...] Read more.
Photoactive polymers are important for fundamental studies and applications in several area of photonics such as data storage and holography and nonlinear optics and photomechanics. The latter is perhaps one of the most important applications of such materials, since they act as light to mechanical energy transducers and move under light action. For example, azo-polymers irradiated by inhomogeneous resonant ultra-violet or visible light undergo molecular and macroscopic motion, at sub-glass transition temperatures by photoisomerization of the azo dyes. Our recent research in this field highlighted the fundamentals of mobility enhancement by light, including light-induced viscosity change and acceleration of relaxation times, and photomechanics, encompassing motions in gradients of actinic light leading to surface structuring and actuation. In this paper, we present an original model which predicts the creation of mechanical pressure, i.e., motion, by a photo-induced change in the occupied volume and length of anisometric isomers, and we give simple analytical expressions describing the dynamics of volume as well as strain change upon polarized light irradiation of photomechanic samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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15 pages, 3181 KiB  
Article
Reversal of Photoinduced Bending of Crystals Due to Internal Refraction of Light
by Stanislav Chizhik, Pavel Gribov, Viktor Kovalskii and Anatoly Sidelnikov
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12007; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312007 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1111
Abstract
The well-known effect of bending of acicular crystals undergoing photochemical reactions is associated with the transformation gradient across the crystal thickness caused by the absorption of light. It is believed that the direction of bending is unambiguously dictated by the sign of the [...] Read more.
The well-known effect of bending of acicular crystals undergoing photochemical reactions is associated with the transformation gradient across the crystal thickness caused by the absorption of light. It is believed that the direction of bending is unambiguously dictated by the sign of the axial component of the reaction strain and due to the higher light intensity on the irradiated side of the crystal. In this study, it is shown experimentally and theoretically that thin crystals with a convex irradiated surface bend in the opposite direction if their thickness is less than the light penetration depth. The reversal of the bending direction is due to the lens effect, able to overcome the absorption of light in a thin crystal and provide a higher light intensity on the rear side of the crystal. A crystal of [Co(NO3)5NO2]Cl(NO3) experiencing nitro-nitrito photoisomerization, begins to bend in the opposite direction after it is thinned by etching to 2 µm when irradiated at the wavelengths of 523 nm, 465 nm, and 403 nm, absorbed at a depth of more than 10 µm in the crystal, but bends in the normal direction under 350 nm light absorbed at a depth of about 1 µm. The experimental results are fully confirmed by modeling the interaction of plane EM wave with crystals of various cross sections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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14 pages, 10622 KiB  
Article
All-Optical Method of Determining Laser Power from the Photomechanical Effect
by Frank Sun, Rocco T. Shasho, Michael Crescimanno and Nathan J. Dawson
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(21), 10708; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122110708 - 22 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1241
Abstract
A method to determine the power of a continuous wave laser from photothermal heating of a poly(dimethyl siloxane) film is reported. The base was doped with oil red O and cured on a surface relief grating. The grating period was shown to increase [...] Read more.
A method to determine the power of a continuous wave laser from photothermal heating of a poly(dimethyl siloxane) film is reported. The base was doped with oil red O and cured on a surface relief grating. The grating period was shown to increase proportional to the temperature by monitoring the decrease in diffraction angle of a probe beam. A 10s illumination period of a continuous wave (CW) pump beam absorbed by the film increased the film’s temperature, which resulted in a local strain that could be modeled using the two-dimensional heat kernel. The amplitude of the transient response was found to be linearly correlated with the pump laser power. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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26 pages, 3188 KiB  
Article
Effect of Disperse Red 1 Azobenzene Dye Doping and Annealing on the Thermomechanical and Photomechanical Properties of PMMA Fibers
by Zoya Ghorbanishiadeh, Bojun Zhou, Morteza Sheibani Karkhaneh, Rebecca Oehler and Mark G. Kuzyk
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(16), 7991; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12167991 - 10 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1439
Abstract
This work studies the effect of azobenzene dye Disperse Red 1 (DR1) doping and annealing on the thermomechanical and photomechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers. The mechanical properties are measured as a function of temperature, pump light intensity, and polarization. We find [...] Read more.
This work studies the effect of azobenzene dye Disperse Red 1 (DR1) doping and annealing on the thermomechanical and photomechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers. The mechanical properties are measured as a function of temperature, pump light intensity, and polarization. We find that doping with DR1 increases the stiffness and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PMMA fibers. Moreover, annealing below Tg decreases Young’s modulus and increases Tg. Finally, the photothermal heating contribution to the photomechanical response and the length change during laser exposure are determined in both unannealed and annealed plain PMMA and DR1-doped PMMA fibers. We find that photothermal heating is the dominant mechanism and the effect of photoisomerization is negligible. The temperature-dependent photomechanical efficiencies are also determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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12 pages, 6698 KiB  
Article
Surface Topographical Control of a Liquid Crystal Microlens Array Embedded in a Polymer Network
by Jose Carlos Mejia, Miho Aizawa, Kyohei Hisano, Kohsuke Matsumoto, Sayuri Hashimoto, Shoichi Kubo and Atsushi Shishido
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(15), 7901; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157901 - 6 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1832
Abstract
A novel approach for fabricating a microlens array with a tunable surface topographical structure and focal length is proposed in the present study. The microlens array was manufactured through the photoinduced molecular reorientation of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) stabilized by a polymer network. [...] Read more.
A novel approach for fabricating a microlens array with a tunable surface topographical structure and focal length is proposed in the present study. The microlens array was manufactured through the photoinduced molecular reorientation of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) stabilized by a polymer network. The fabricated microlens array had a mountain-shaped topographical structure due to the accumulation of polymers and LC molecules. The molecular orientation of the LC inside the microlens was disordered, while the outer side of the microlens was ordered. The thermal expansion of the polymer network and the phase transition of the LC molecules within the microlens array allowed the surface topographical structure and the focal length to be reversibly tuned under heat treatment. The results of this research work will enable future implementations to provide a thermally tunable microlens array. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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12 pages, 1185 KiB  
Article
Regimes in the Response of Photomechanical Materials
by Tianyi Guo, Anastasiia Svanidze, Xiaoyu Zheng and Peter Palffy-Muhoray
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(15), 7723; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157723 - 31 Jul 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1480
Abstract
Photomechanical materials perform mechanical work in response to illumination. Photoisomerization-based photomechanical materials may operate in different regimes depending on the intensity of the illuminating light. We examine the photoresponse of liquid crystalline azo-acrylate networks and show that a material property, the characteristic intensity [...] Read more.
Photomechanical materials perform mechanical work in response to illumination. Photoisomerization-based photomechanical materials may operate in different regimes depending on the intensity of the illuminating light. We examine the photoresponse of liquid crystalline azo-acrylate networks and show that a material property, the characteristic intensity of the material, defines the boundaries between different regimes. Asymptotic analysis indicates that whereas at low relative light levels, photostress is proportional to intensity, at high levels, it is proportional to fluence. Model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Light-Driven Materials and Applications)
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