Liquid crystals are the basis of a pervasive technology of the modern era. Yet, as the display
market becomes commoditized, researchers in industry, government and academia are …

Photochromism is defined as a reversible transformation of a chemical species between two
isomers having different absorption spectra induced in one or both directions by …

Real-time monitoring of strain/stress in polymers is a big challenge to date. Herein, we for
the first time report an ESIPT (excited-state intramolecular proton transfer)-based …

Transformation of energy into motion (work) is one of the basic processes of energy
conversion in nature. The processes of actuation underlying the transduction of light …

Polymer solutions and solids that contain light-sensitive molecules can undergo photo-
contraction, whereby light energy is converted into mechanical energy,,,,,,,. Here we show …

Photomechanical crystals composed of three-dimensionally ordered and densely packed
photochromes hold promise for high-performance photochemical actuators. However, bulk …

Materials are said to show a shape-memory effect if they can be deformed and fixed into a
temporary shape, and recover their original, permanent shape only on exposure to an …

Azobenzene photochemistry is a fascinating area of investigation, on one hand, because it
is fairly wellknown, 1 and on the other hand because it has produced and continues to …

The widespread use of controlled molecular‐level motion in key natural processes suggests
that great rewards could come from bridging the gap between the present generation of …

Photochemical reactions which occur in smallmole-cules can also be induced to occur in
macromolecules. Though, in macromolecular environments there are constraints which are …