Photo-Stimulated Phase Transitions

Abstract

Employing actinic light to alter/stabilize a particular thermodynamic phase via the photo-isomerization of the constituent molecules is an interesting tool to investigate soft matter from a new dimension. This article focuses on the influence of different parameters, such as pressure, confinement, applied electric field, etc., on the dynamics associated with both the photochemical transition driving the equilibrium nematic to the non-equilibrium isotropic phase and the thermal back relaxation recovering the nematic phase.