Azobenzene-Containing Supramolecular Side-Chain Polymer Films for Laser-Induced Surface Relief Gratings

In this article, we describe the fabrication of azobenzene-containing supramolecular side-chain polymer films based on hydrogen bonds, on which surface relief gratings can be laser-induced. The supramolecular polymer side-chain is formed by attaching different azobenzene-type compounds to poly(4-vinylpyridine) through hydrogen bonding, thus allowing for tuning the content and kind of the azobenzene derivatives easily and avoiding the tedious synthetic work. It is found that such an azobenzene-containing supramolecular side-chain polymer can form nice films by the spin-coating method for surface relief gratings, and moreover, a large surface modulation depth of 312 nm can be observed. We anticipate that this research provides a type of materials for surface relief gratings. In closing, we have provided a new approach for fabricating surface relief gratings employing hydrogen-bonded supramolecular side-chain azo polymers.