Supramolecular Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Organogel: Fabrication, Multiresponsiveness, and Holographic Switching Properties

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive supramolecular organogels are fascinating for their dynamically controllable features, but it is difficult for most versatile linear vinyl polymers to construct suitable cross-linking points in oils or organic solvents. Here, a mesomorphic organogelator was fabricated by self-assembly of one azopyridine-containing polymer and oleic acid for the first time. Particularly, oleic acid acts as not only one important component to construct the mesogenic gelator but also the solvent entrapped in the interstices of the physically cross-linked three-dimensional (3D) network. The resulting organogel shows a macroscopic gel-sol transition upon external triggers of temperature, light, and organic metal ions. Accordingly, holographic gratings were successfully inscribed in the organogel, whose switching behaviors were obtained by manipulation of the three external stimuli. This provides a simple and elegant strategy to construct multiresponsive supramolecular liquid-crystalline polymer organogels with promising applications in optics, data storage, and sensors.