The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Shape-programmable soft matter provides a versatile platform for micro-actuators and responsive optics. However, achieving reversible and high-resolution within liquid crystal (LC) droplets has remained a challenge. Herein, we report a light-driven, reversible reconfiguration of LC droplets into sophisticated filamentary structures, driven by the interfacial enrichment of amiphiphilic azobenzene. The transition is governed by the photo-isomerization of the azo-moiety. Under UV irradiation, the isomerization increases the interfacial tension (γ) while simultaneously decreasing the elastic constants (K). This shift renders the filamentary structure thermodynamically unstable, triggering a transformation into a spherical shape, and vice versa upon visible light. Furthermore, we achieve spatailly selective filamentation or spherical transformation within individual droplets, providing a robust platform for high-precision optical controllers and responsive soft robotics.