Induction of Highly Ordered Liquid Crystalline Phase of an Azobenzene Side Chain Polymer by Contact with 4'-Pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl: An In Situ Study.

The orientation of liquid crystal (LC) molecules is significantly governed by solid interfaces and free surfaces, and a variety of functional materials have been developed using these properties. Although LC materials are already in industrial use, particularly for LC display panels, various studies have been conducted in recent years to better grasp the interface behavior of LC molecules. In this work, we succeeded in in situ observations of induction of higher ordered LC phases at the interface between a side-chain LC azobenzene polymer film with a thickness of ∼400 nm and a low-molecular-mass nematic LC, 4'-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl of 35 μm thickness, using small-angle X-ray scattering measurements and polarized optical microscopy. It is revealed that the two different mesogens cooperatively form hybrid higher ordered smectic LC phases probably through weak electron transfer immediately after interfacial contact. The induction process consists of three stages in terms of dynamic structure evolutions. Upon UV irradiation, the hybrid smectic LC structure diminished. This study provides new insights into the behavior of LC molecules near the alignment film on the solid substrate.