Film forming material and preparation of surface relief and optically anisotropic structures by irradiating a film of the said material

A film forming, photoactive, homogeneously mixed material comprising an ionic complex prepared from

• (a) at least one ionic photosensitive compound which may undergo a photoreaction, selected from photoisomerizations, photocycloadditions and photoinduced rearrangements, wherein the photosensitive compound is of formula I or formula II
• [R—P—R′]n+ n/x Ax− (I) or
• n/x Ax+ [R—P—R′]n− (II)
• wherein P is a group capable of photoisomerization, and R and R′ are independently selected from optionally substituted or functionalized aryl-containing groups at least one of which is positively or negatively charged, A is an oppositely charged cation or anion, n is an integer, and x is 1, 2 or 3, and/or
• the photosensitive compound is of formula III or IV:
• [R1-Q-R1′]n+ n/x Ax− (III) or
• n/x Ax+ [R1-Q-R1′]n− (IV)
• wherein Q is a group capable of participating in a photocycloaddition or photoinduced rearrangement reaction, and R1 and R1′ are independently selected from optionally substituted or functionalized groups having electron-accepting properties and optionally substituted or functionalized aryl-containing groups and from such groups which together with Q form an aryl ring or heteroaryl ring, wherein either at least one of R1 and R1′ is positively or negatively charged or the ring structure and/or a substituent thereon will carry at least one positive or negative charge, wherein A, n and x are defined as for formulae I and II
• with the proviso that in all compounds of formulae (I) to (IV) contained in one complex, the charge of [R—P—R′] and/or [R1-Q-R1′] has the same sign,
• and/or
• (a′) at least one photosensitive polyelectrolyte (“second polyelectrolyte”) carrying residues which may undergo a photoreaction, selected from photoisomerizations, photocycloadditions and photoinduced rearrangements, wherein said second polyelectrolyte essentially consists of or mainly comprises at least one structure according to formula Ia or formula IIa
• [Pol(R*—P—R′)]oon+ n/x Ax− (Ia), or
• n/x Ax+ [Pol(R*—P—R′)]oon− (IIa),
• and/or
• of formula IIIa or IVa:
• [Pol(R1*-Q-R1′)]oon+ n/x Ax− (IIIa), or
• n/x Ax+ [Pol(R1*-Q-R1′)]oon− (IVa)
• wherein Pol means a repeating unit of a linear or branched polymer chain, o indicates the number of the repeating unit of the polymer chain, and (R*—P—R′) and (R1*-Q-R1′) are n-fold positively or negatively charged side chains of the repeating unit Pol, wherein
• P, R′, R1′, Q, A, x and n are defined as for formulae (I) to (IV) above, R* is selected from optionally substituted and/or functionalized aryl-containing groups bound to the repeating unit Pol and to group P,
• wherein at least one of R* and R′ is positively or negatively charged,
• R1* is selected from optionally substituted or functionalized groups which have electron-accepting properties and is bound to the repeating unit Pol and to group Q, wherein at least one of R1* and R1′ is positively or negatively charged, or wherein the ring structure comprising R1′ and Q and/or a substituent thereon will carry at least one positive or negative charge, and
• o is at least 2, preferably between 2 and 1,000, but can be even higher,
• with the proviso that in one complex, groups [R*—P—R′] and/or [R1*-Q-R1′] all have the same sign,
• and
• (b) at least one polyelectrolyte carrying charges which are opposite to those of the active groups [R—P—R′] and/or [R1-Q-R1′] and/or those of the active groups (R*—P—R′) and/or (R1x-Q-R1′) of the photosensitive material, respectively, said polyelectrolyte being a sol-gel product and selected from charged polysiloxanes formed in situ by hydrolytic condensation of alkoxy- and/or chlorosilanes carrying a positive or negative charge, preferably carboxy group containing silanes, or by hydrolytic condensation of neutral silanes and subsequent introduction of a charged group thereto, preferably an ammonium group into an aminosiloxane.