Addition of Functional Characteristics of Organic Photochromic Dye to Nano-Structures by Selective Doping on a Polymer Surface

Abstract

Functional characteristics of an organic photochromic dye were added to nano-structures of a diblock copolymer by selective doping using the "vapor transportation method" with vacuum technique. The photochromic compound cis-1,2-dicyano-1,2-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thienyl)ethene (CMTE) was dispersed into polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and polycarbonate (PC) substrates, and the rates of production of CMTE-containing layers were as follows: PS > PC > PMMA. The differences in formation rate between polymer matrices can lead to selective dispersal of CMTE into the PS nano-domains of a PS-block-PMMA film with a micro phase separation structure, resulting in addition of the photochromic characteristics of CMTE to PS nano-structures of the PS-block-PMMA film.