Schiff base derivative doped chiral nematic liquid crystals with a large wavelength shift driven by temperature and light

A chiral binaphthol derivative linked with a salicylaldehyde Schiff base was successfully synthesized and studied in detail, which had been found to possess interesting properties of both UV light and thermal response. When the chiral derivative was used to develop responsive liquid crystal (LC) materials, it was found that the reflective peak of the doped LCs could be reversibly shifted between 540 nm and 1200 nm by temperature and could also be widely moved from 540 nm to 2500 nm by UV irradiation. The results provided a new way to design photochromic and thermochromic materials.