@Article{JRM.2014.634134,
AUTHOR = {Raquel Fernández, Connie Ocando, Susana C. M. Fernandes, Arantxa Eceiza, Agnieszka Tercjak},
TITLE = {Photoresponsive Multilayer Films of Chitosan  and an Azopolymer},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {3},
YEAR = {2015},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {49--55},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v3n1/49618},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {The main goal of this work was the development of photoactive multilayer fi lms. Taking into account that 
chitosan is a biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and antibacterial biopolymer, the fabrication of chitosanbased multilayer fi lms can be an interesting pathway to obtain biopolymer-based fi lms in which properties 
can be combined with a light-responsive material, such as an azobenzene-containing polymer. In particular, 
the layer-by-layer technique was used for the fabrication of the optically active fi lms consisting of alternating 
layers of chitosan and an azopolymer. The infl uence of the pH and the number of bilayers on the structure 
and properties of the fi lms was investigated by different experimental techniques and it was found that the 
roughness and elastic modulus of the multilayer fi lms increased with the decrease in chitosan solution pH. 
Besides, induced birefringence measurements revealed that a higher level of photoorientation was attained 
with the decrease in pH and the increase in bilayer number of the developed fi lms.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2014.634134}
}