Azo Polymers Synthesis, Functions and Applications

This book explores functional polymers containing aromatic azo chromophores in side-chain, main-chain and other parts of their structures, known as azo polymers and which share common photoresponsive properties. It focuses on the molecular architecture of azo polymers, the synthetic methods and their most important functions, such as photoinduced birefringence and dichroism, surface-relief-grating (SRG) formation, and light-driven deformation of liquid crystal elastomers. It combines a general survey of the subject and in-depth discussions of each topic, including numerous illustrations, figures, and photographs. Offering a balance between an introduction to the core concepts and a snapshot of hot and emerging topics, it is of interest to graduate students and researchers working in this and related fields.

Xiaogong Wang is a Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China.

Xiaogong Wang received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Tsinghua University under the supervision of Professor Qixiang Zhou in 1984 and 1994, respectively. From 1985 to 1986, he worked as a visiting scholar with Professor Isao Ando at the Department of Polymer Chemistry, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. From 1994 to 1997, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow and visiting scientist with Professor Sukant K. Tripathy at the Center for Advanced Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, U.S.A. He was promoted to full professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University in 1998. His main research interest is to develop azo polymers with novel photoresponsive functions and elaborate their mechanisms. His research is also dedicated to polymer self-assembly, polymer surface modification and liquid crystal polymer.