Fundamental Aspects and Applications of Photoactive and Electro-Optic Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2024 | Viewed by 2888

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto 6068585, Sakyo, Japan
Interests: fundamental to applications in electro-optics and nonlinear optics; photorefractive polymers; ferroelectric polymers; polymer laser; two-photon absorption-induced structure; photochromism and photoactive polymers

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Guest Editor
Photonics Control Technology Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198, Japan
Interests: nonlinear optics; optical characterization of materials; photorefractive polymers; photoresponsive organic materials

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto 6068585, Sakyo, Japan
Interests: synthesis and application of photofunctional dyes; photorefractive polymers; photochromic dyes; synthesis and application of functional fiber materials; electrospun nanofibers; centrifugal spun nanofibers.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photoactive polymers and electro-optic are categorized as polymeric materials that actively interact with and respond to light. In photorefractive polymers, which is one of the electro-optic polymers, light–matter interaction, in particular, induces light–light interaction. So far, photorefractive crystals have shown two-beam coupling in intensity but not in phase because of the phase shift = 90° (π/2). On the other hand, in photorefractive polymers, in addition to intensity coupling, phase coupling is expected because of the phase shift ≠ 90° (π/2). These unique properties provide us with interesting phenomena. Furthermore, orientational enhancement is a huge merit for photorefractive polymers. Photocurrent dynamics is a fundamental phenomenon in photorefractive polymers. Additionally, spatiotemporal photorefractive dynamics is another interesting area. In photoactive polymers, including photorefractive polymers, erasable and rewritable properties can lead to rewritable holographic 3D imaging.

This Special Issue of Polymers aims to collect original articles that address a broad range of topics related to light–matter interaction and new photoactive, electro-optic, and photorefractive polymers, as well as their applications, particularly from the field of polymer material science and engineering. We welcome submissions of novel and original papers, review articles as well as mini reviews, which advance the understandings of the science and technical aspects of the photoactive, electro-optic, and photorefractive polymers. Some potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Electro-optic polymers (Pockels, Kerr);
  • Photorefractive polymers (polymers, liquid crystals, composites, and hybrids);
  • Photochromic polymers (azo-dye, spiropyran, diarylethane, and chromophore);
  • Nonlinear optical polymers (two-photon absorption, Pockels, and Kerr);
  • Soft photonic materials (gels, liquid crystals, and solutions);
  • Stretchable photoactive materials and devices (photoactive elastomers).

Prof. Dr. Naoto Tsutsumi
Dr. Takafumi Sassa
Dr. Kenji Kinashi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • electro-optic
  • photorefractive
  • photoactive
  • photochromic
  • nonlinear optics
  • soft photonic materials
  • stretchable photoactive materials and devices
  • holographic imaging

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 13366 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity-Enhancing Modified Holographic Photopolymer of PQ/PMMA
by Junhui Wu, Junchao Jin, Po Hu, Jinhong Li, Zeyi Zeng, Qingdong Li, Jie Liu, Mingyong Chen, Zuoyu Zhang, Li Wang, Xiao Lin and Xiaodi Tan
Polymers 2024, 16(11), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16111484 - 23 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1189
Abstract
Phenanthrenequinone-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) (PQ/PMMA) photopolymers are potential holographic storage media owing to their high-density storage capacities, low costs, high stability, and negligible shrinkage in volume holographic permanent memory. However, because of the limitations of the substrate, conventional Plexiglas materials do not exhibit a [...] Read more.
Phenanthrenequinone-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) (PQ/PMMA) photopolymers are potential holographic storage media owing to their high-density storage capacities, low costs, high stability, and negligible shrinkage in volume holographic permanent memory. However, because of the limitations of the substrate, conventional Plexiglas materials do not exhibit a good performance in terms of photosensitivity and molding. In this study, the crosslinked structure of PMMA was modified by introducing a dendrimer monomer, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETA), which increases the photosensitivity of the material 2 times (from ~0.58 cm/J to ~1.18 cm/J), and the diffraction efficiency is increased 1.6 times (from ~50% to ~80%). In addition, the modified material has a superior ability to mold compared to conventional materials. Moreover, the holographic performance enhancement was evaluated in conjunction with a quantum chemical analysis. The doping of PETA resulted in an overall decrease in the energy required for the reaction system of the material, and the activation energy decreased by ~0.5 KJ/mol in the photoreaction stage. Full article
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15 pages, 2991 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Polarization Angle on Holographic Recording Based on PQ/PMMA
by Wanxiang He, Defa Liu, Hang Chen, Jundi Wang, Yaping Zhang and Bing Zhang
Polymers 2024, 16(6), 821; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16060821 - 15 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1031
Abstract
The polarization state of light waves significantly affects the quality of holographic recordings. This paper quantitatively analyzes the impact of different polarization states of signal and reference beams on the quality of holographic recordings in PQ/PMMA photopolymer systems during the holography process. By [...] Read more.
The polarization state of light waves significantly affects the quality of holographic recordings. This paper quantitatively analyzes the impact of different polarization states of signal and reference beams on the quality of holographic recordings in PQ/PMMA photopolymer systems during the holography process. By deriving the light field distribution of the interference between two light waves of different polarization states and introducing the interference fringe contrast and the modulation of the refractive index of the photopolymer, we established the relationship between the diffraction efficiency of PQ/PMMA photopolymer holographic gratings and the angle between polarization directions. Based on this relationship, simulations and experiments were conducted. The experimental results demonstrated that as the angle between the polarization directions increased, the diffraction efficiency of the material decreased, with the efficiency dropping to 24.69% of its original value when the angle increased from 0° to 50°. When the angle increased to 60°, the influence of polarization characteristics became gradually significant, and at 90°, it was entirely dominated by polarization characteristics. The photoinduced birefringence properties of the PQ/PMMA prepared in the measurement experiment were studied, and the polarization characteristics of the reconstructed light under polarization direction angles of 0°, 60°, and 90° were investigated. The results indicated that at a polarization direction angle of 60 degrees, the material exhibited a significant response to the polarization information of the signal light. Finally, holographic recordings of objects at different polarization direction angles were conducted, and the reconstructed images were used to visually reflect the impact of the polarization direction angle on the quality of holographic recordings. Full article
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