During the last years, there has been an increasing interest in the photoinduced switching effects. Among the objects of
concern azobenzene derivatives, isomerizing under UV and visible light, occupy a prominent position. To understand the
photoresponse of these materials in the condensed phase, their spectroscopic and electrical properties are studied. It is shown
that the photoresponse depends on the orientation of the molecules and their packing. A number of novel azobenzene
derivatives containing a N,N-dicyclohexyl sulfonamide moiety is synthesized. The derivatives differ in the length of alkyl
chains between the azobenzene moiety and SH or COOH groups. The morphology and the photoinduced switching of the
surface potential of the self-assembled monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers are investigated.
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