PHOTOACTIVE POLYMERS

摘要

A photoactive polymer has general formula (I) in which: P is a photoactive group which can photoisomerise and/or photodimerise; B represents an aromatic or alicyclic group, or B further represents a nitrogen atom or -CR<2>-; A, C, D each independently of the other represents an aromatic or alicyclic group; M represents a repeating monomer unit in a homo- or copolymer; S<1>, S<2>, S<3>, S<4>, S<5> represent a single covalent bond or a spacer unit; n<1>, n<2> are each independently a positive integer up to 2 with the proviso that n<1> + n<2> DOLLAR mF 2; R<1> is a hydrogen atom, or a straight-chain or branched alkyl residue wherein R<2> represents a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl. The photoactive polymers may be used as orientation layers for liquid crystals and in the construction of unstructured and structured optical elements and multi-layer systems.