Mechanism of unidirectional liquid-crystal alignment on polyimides with linearly polarized ultraviolet light exposure

Abstract

Unidirectional liquid-crystal (LC) alignment by a linearly polarized ultraviolet light (UV) exposure was examined using two types of polyimide (PI). PI with a fluorene unit incorporated in a side chain showed LC alignment perpendicular to those of conventional PIs, i.e., perpendicular to the rubbing direction and parallel to the exposure polarization of UV. The results of the dichroic ratio measurement of LC cells, UV absorption spectra, birefringence, infrared absorption spectra, and PI conformation calculations using molecular mechanics suggest that the photodecomposition of PI by UV exposure produces anisotropic van der Waals forces, which align LC along its optical axis.