In-situ Monitoring of Photocontrollable Wrinkle Erasure in Azobenzene-based Supramolecular Systems

In this contribution, dynamic photoinduced wrinkle erasure enabled by photomechanical changes in supramolecular polymer-azo complexes was characterized via confocal microscopy. Different photoactive molecules, disperse yellow 7 (DY7) and 4,4′-dihydroxyazobenzene (DHAB), were compared to 4-hydroxy-4′-dimethylaminoazobenzene (OH-azo-DMA). The characteristic erasure times of wrinkles were quickly assessed by using an image processing algorithm. The results confirm that the photoinduced movement on the topmost layer can be successfully transferred to the substrate. Furthermore, the chosen supramolecular strategy allows decoupling the effect of molecular weight of the polymer and photochemistry of the chromophore, allowing quantitative comparison of wrinkling erasure efficiency of different materials and providing a facile way to optimize the system for specific applications.