Photoalignment Control of Liquid Crystals on Photo-Cross-Linkable Methacrylate Copolymer Films Comprising 4-(4′-Methoxycinnamoyloxy)Biphenyl Side-Group

Abstract

We describe a photoalignment control of liquid crystal (LC) on photo-cross-linkable polymer films using a slantwise nonpolarized ultraviolet (NP-UV) light irradiation. A polymer having a photoreactive mesogenic 6-[4-(4′-methoxycinnamoyloxy)biphenyloxy]hexyl side-group and its copolymer with methacrylate derivatives comprising photoinactive side-groups were synthesized and used for the LC alignment layer. The LC aligned homogeneously or homeotropically with tilt angles, and the alignment behavior was dependent on the type of the (co)polymers and LCs.