Conformational change of poly(methylphenylsilane) induced by the photoisomerization of pendant azobenzene moiety in the film state

Conformational change of the main chain of poly(methylphenylsilane) functionalized with pendant azobenzene has been studied in the solution and in the film state. The conformation of the main chain was found to depend on the molar ratio of the Si units with and without the pendant azobenzene moiety. The inflection region for the conformational change was 0.3–0.5 of the molar ratio. The conformation of the main chain changed by the photoisomerization of the pendant azobenzene moiety in the film state. The efficiency of the conformational change of the main chain increased with the decrease of the molar ratio, accompanied by the highest final value of degree of the conformational change at the molar ratio of 0.5. The reverse conformational change was induced by heating.