By incorporating azobenzene groups into the crosslinked liquid crystal polymers (CLCPs),
large deformations such as contraction and bending have been induced by UV light due to the
photoisomerization of the azobenzene chromophores. Since light is an ideal stimulus for it can be
localized (in time and space), selective, nondamaging, and allows for remote delivery of energy,
photodeformable CLCPs present an interesting opportunity to realize soft actuators in microscope
applications. Recently, we incorporated upconversion materials which absorb low-energy light and
convert it to higher-energy photons in UV and visible regions, into the CLCP films and succeeded
in generating fast bending of the resulting composite films upon exposure to red light and
near-infrared light. It would be interesting and significant to develop photodeformable CLCPs
which could be photo-regulated by such low-energy light, since it is more environment-friendly and
causes less damage.
