Photoresponsive Anisotropic Soft Solids: Liquid‐Crystalline Physical Gels Based on a Chiral Photochromic Gelator

Abstract

Photoinduced reversible structural changes of anisotropic physical gels are applied to re‐writable patterning (see Figure, a photo of a re‐writable pattern). The change between a nematic gel and a cholesteric gel via a cholesteric liquid‐crystalline sol state is induced by trans – cis photoisomerization of the azobenzene moieties in a chiral hydrogen‐bonded gelator blended with a nematic liquid crystal.