Comb‐like methacrylamide polymers containing condensates of amino acids and azobenzene moieties in the side chains

The synthesis and free‐radical polymerization of 4‐(6‐methacryloylaminohexanoylamino)azobenzene (4), 4‐(11‐methacryloylaminoundecanoylamino)azobenzene (5), and 4‐[11‐(11‐methacryloylaminoundecanoylamino)undecanolyamino]azobenzene (6), are described. The monomers; the corresponding homopolymers 8–10, poly(4‐methacryloylaminoazobenzene) (7), and copolymers of 5 with stearyl acrylate, 11, and methyl methacrylate, 12, were characterized by DSC and TG analysis. Homopolymers with relatively long amino acid spacer groups were crystalline, the copolymer 12 was not crystalline. The UV‐induced E/Z photoisomerization and the thermal back‐isomerization were investigated for some of the monomers and polymers in solution and in solid films and correlated with the structures of the compounds. After photoisomerization the crystallinity of homopolymer 9 vanished because of disordering of the azobenzene side chains.