Homopolymers with high photoinduceable double refraction

A homopolymer formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch, therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula (VII),
• wherein R2, R2′, R3, R3′, R4, R5, R5′, R6 of ring-A and R6′ each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, methoxy, —SO2CH3, —SO2CF3, —SO2NH2, —CN, benzamido and —NO2;
• R6 of the amide linkage —C(O)—NR6— is hydrogen;
• and R7, R8, R9 and R10 each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine and methyl.

A homopolymer, formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula (V),
• wherein R 2, R2′, R3, R3′, R4, R5, R5′, R6 and R6′ each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, methoxy, —SO2CH3, —SO2CF3, —SO2NH2, —CN, benzamido and —NO2;
• and R7, R8, R9 and R10 each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine and methyl.

A homopolymer, formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula (VIa),
• wherein R7, R8, R9 and R10 each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine and methyl;
• R11 represents —NO2;
• K, L and M each independently represent N, S, O, —CH2— and —CH═, provided that at least one of K, L and M is a hetero atom, and ring A is one of saturated and contains 1 or 2 double bonds.

A homopolymer, formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula (VIb),
• wherein R2′, R3′, R5′ and R6′each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, trifluoromethyl, methoxy, —SO2CH3, —SO2CF3, —SO2NH2, —CN, benzamido and —NO2;
• R6 is hydrogen;
• R7, R8, R9 and R10 each independently represent hydrogen, chlorine and methyl;
• R11 represents —NO2;
• K, L and M each independently represent N, S, O, —CH2— and —CH═, provided that at least one of K, L and M is a hetero atom, and ring A is one of saturated and contains 1 or 2 double bonds.

A homopolymer, formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula,

A homopolymer, formed from monomers which:

• contain groupings which are at least trinuclear, which are capable of absorbing the electromagnetic radiation of visible light, and which are structured so that in their thermodynamically stable state they are distended and strongly anisometric,
• wherein the at least trinuclear groupings comprise at least one electron-attracting substituent which gives rise to a dipole moment which forms an angle of at least 20° with the longitudinal axis of the at least trinuclear groupings, and
• further wherein said homopolymer, which, on a main chain which acts as a backbone, contains covalently bonded side groups which branch therefrom, of formula,
• —§—T—Q—E
• wherein
• § denotes one of oxygen, sulphur and NR1,
• T denotes a (CH2)n radical, optionally interrupted by one of —O—, —NR1— and —OSiR12O—, and optionally substituted by one of methyl and ethyl,
• R1 representing one of hydrogen and C1-C4 alkyl,
• n denotes the number 2, 3 or 4
• Q denotes a divalent linking group, and
• E denotes the trinuclear group, which is represented by the following formula,