Effect of Molecular Weight on Liquid Crystal Photoalignment by Photosensitive Polyester Containing Thrifluoromethyl Moieties

We investigate the liquid-crystal (LC) alignment direction on photoalignment films formed from photosensitive polyester containing thrifluoromethyl moieties (PPDA) with various molecular weights by crossed polarized optical microscopy. It is found that LC alignment behaviour changes with molecular weight of PPDA. The LC alignment on PPDA irradiated films with the highest molecular weight is homogeneous, while those with low and intermediate molecular weights are homeotropic. However, surface morphologies show weak dependence on molecular weight. The surfaces are smooth and there is no clear morphological anisotropy on these aligned films observed by an atomic force microscope. The surface energies of the irradiated films are also measured by using an indirect contact-angle method where both surface energy and its polar component increase with increasing molecular weight. Different polar surface energies can be considered as a main reason for different alignment characteristics.