Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.601, No.1, 126-133, 2014
Photo-Controlled Manipulation of Micrometer-Scale Objects on Polyethyleneglycol Thin Films with Azobenzene Compounds
We demonstrated manipulation of micrometer-sized objects (micro-objects) by scanning light irradiation on polyethyleneglycol (PEG) thin films doped with azobenzene derivatives. 4-Ethoxy-4 '-methoxyazobenzene (EMAB)-/ Disperse Red 1(DR1)-doped polyethyleneglycol films were selected as matrix. The motion of micro-objects was caused by irradiation upon UV (lambda = 375nm) and visible (lambda = 488nm) light, which suggested that the photo-responsive motion was affected by the following three factors: light intensity, the concentration of azobenzene compound in PEG, and the distance between the irradiation position and the micro-objects. Moreover, the travelling speed of micro-objects on the DR1-doped PEG film was more effective than that on the EMAB-doped PEG film under the visible light.