# Light-switchable LCST windows in an ionic liquid solution of azobenzene copolymers

https://mdr.nims.go.jp/datasets/19cbf7e8-b53b-4a95-9933-0be961c27e36

## File

- [[Polym.J.]Light-switchable LCST windows in an ionic liquid solution of azobenzene copolymers.pdf](https://mdr.nims.go.jp/filesets/63e38895-bf97-426e-9f0d-ebafad598c4b/download) ([Detail](https://mdr.nims.go.jp/filesets/63e38895-bf97-426e-9f0d-ebafad598c4b.md))

## Id

19cbf7e8-b53b-4a95-9933-0be961c27e36

## Local identifier



## Visibility

open_to_public

## State

published

## Created at

2026-10-08T02:38:10.785368Z

## Updated at

2026-10-08T02:43:20.394546Z

## Published at

2026-10-08T05:25:18.638341Z

## Doi



## First published url

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-026-01195-0

## Date published

2026-05-13

## Recorded date published

2026-10

## Resource type

journal_article

## Manuscript type

vor

## Collection



## Title

- title: Light-switchable LCST windows in an ionic liquid solution of azobenzene copolymers
  title_type: original
  lang: en

## Description

- description: Photo-induced tuning of lower critical solution temperature (LCST)
    behavior is an attractive route for reversible phase control, yet the achievable
    cloud-point shift is often modest in conventional solvent systems. Here, we demonstrate
    a composition-amplified, light-tunable LCST in ionic liquid polymer solutions
    using random copolymers of 4-phenylazophenyl methacrylate and phenethyl methacrylate
    (P(AzoMA-r-PhEtMA)) dissolved in 1-ethyl-3methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonylimide
    ([C2mim][TFSI]), a medium in which the azobenzene-containing monomer is readily
    compatible. Turbidity measurements reveal opposite cloud-point shifts under UV
    (cis-type) and visible-light (trans-type) conditions, enabling a bistable temperature
    window that widens monotonically with azobenzene composition. At 37 °C, the solution
    is reversibly switched between one-phase and two-phase states by light alone and
    maintains stable cycling for more than ~40,500 s. These results provide a practical
    molecular design guideline for targeting ambient-to-physiological light-controlled
    phase separation in nonvolatile ionic liquid media.
  description_type: abstract
  lang: und

## Creator

- name: Tsubasa Naka
  role: author
- name: Takeshi Ueki
  role: author
  orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9317-6280

## Contact agent



## Publisher

organization: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

## Managing organization



## Keyword

- subject: ionic liquid
  schema: not_defined
- subject: LCST
  schema: not_defined
- subject: stimuli responsive
  schema: not_defined
- subject: ion gel
  schema: not_defined
- subject: azobenzene
  schema: not_defined
- subject: polymer
  schema: not_defined
- subject: photo reversible
  schema: not_defined

## Rights

- identifier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## Other identifier(s)



## Data origin



## Embargo



## Journal

- title: Polymer Journal
  issn: '00323896'
  volume: '58'
  issue: '10'
  start_page: 1337
  end_page: 1344

## Conference



## Related item



## Funding

- identifier: 23H02030
  funder_name: MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- identifier: 26H02296
  funder_name: MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

## Instrument



## Instrument operator



## Instrument managing organization



## Measurement method



## Specimen



## Chemical composition



## Structure for specimen



## Structural feature for specimen



## Specific property for specimen



## Process for specimen treatment



## Computational method



## Energy level/transition state



## Software



## Custom property



## Fileset

- id: 63e38895-bf97-426e-9f0d-ebafad598c4b
  filename: "[Polym.J.]Light-switchable LCST windows in an ionic liquid solution of
    azobenzene copolymers.pdf"
  content_type: application/pdf
  size: 1415842
  md5: 850446c1ca727b431f5cd99f110dbd0c

## Thumbnail

fileset_id: 63e38895-bf97-426e-9f0d-ebafad598c4b
filename: "[Polym.J.]Light-switchable LCST windows in an ionic liquid solution of
  azobenzene copolymers.pdf"