@Article{D3TC00099K,
author ="Varela-Domínguez, Noa and López-Bueno, Carlos and López-Moreno, Alejandro and Claro, Marcel S. and Rama, Gustavo and Leborán, Víctor and Giménez-López, María del Carmen and Rivadulla, Francisco",
title  ="Light-induced bi-directional switching of thermal conductivity in azobenzene-doped liquid crystal mesophases",
journal  ="J. Mater. Chem. C",
year  ="2023",
volume  ="11",
issue  ="14",
pages  ="4588-4594",
publisher  ="The Royal Society of Chemistry",
doi  ="10.1039/D3TC00099K",
url  ="http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D3TC00099K",
abstract  ="The development of systems that can be switched between states with different thermal conductivities is one of the current challenges in materials science. Despite their enormous diversity and chemical richness{,} molecular materials have been only scarcely explored in this regard. Here{,} we report a reversible{,} light-triggered thermal conductivity switching of ≈30–40% in mesophases of pure 4{,}4′-dialkyloxy-3-methylazobenzene. By doping a liquid crystal matrix with the azobenzene molecules{,} reversible and bidirectional switching of the thermal conductivity can be achieved by UV/Vis-light irradiation. Given the enormous variety of photoactive molecules and chemically compatible liquid crystal mesophases{,} this approach opens unforeseen possibilities for developing effective thermal switches based on molecular materials."}