Synthesis and characterization of azobenzene-containing side-chain photorefractive polymers

The synthesis and characterization of some new high-Tg photorefractive polymers, polyphosphazene P3–P8, were described. They were obtained via a post-azo coupling reaction. The resulting materials have been characterized by means of 1H NMR, 31P NMR, FT-IR, UV–vis, GPC and DSC. Chromophore contents up to 14 mol% have been realized. The polymers had high glass transition temperatures and good optical transparency. Measurements reveal that they possess relatively large magnitude of photoinduced birefringence.