The incorporation of the azobenzene moiety into bent-core molecular systems can produce interesting phase structures that can be tuned by UV and visible light.

This work is carried out under the supervision of Prof. Torsten Hegmann at Kent State University Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute.

This texture corresponds to the mesophase formed by an azobenzene-containing bent-core compound that can induces interesting phase structures under UV and visible light. It represents characteristic defects of one of the typical bent-core mesophases showing different color domains, and the microphotography is highly attractive from an aesthetic and artistic point of view. However, it will undoubtedly be of great interest to provide some additional information on the type of liquid crystal phase and the molecular organization that originate this texture.