Exciting new applications, from large‐area nanopatterning and templating to soft light‐powered robotics, are emerging from the fundamental research on light‐triggered changes in macromolecular systems upon photoisomerization of azobenzene‐based molecular photoswitches. The understanding of how the initial molecular‐scale photoisomerization of azobenzene, a complex photochemical event in itself, is translated into the response of macromolecules and even into macroscopic‐scale motion of illuminated azomaterials is an enormous task. The focus here is on how this knowledge has advanced by applying different vibrational spectroscopy techniques that provide rich molecular insight into the photoresponse of chemically specific molecular moieties. In particular, infrared and Raman spectroscopy studies are highlighted, in the context of phototriggered perturbation of self‐assembled structures and photoinduced linear and circular anisotropy, as well as photoinduced surface patterning, with the objective of offering a perspective on how vibrational spectroscopy can help in answering an array of essential yet unsettled questions.

中文翻译：

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用光驯服大分子：振动光谱学

从基于偶氮苯的分子光开关进行光异构化的大分子系统中光触发变化的基础研究，涌现出令人激动的新应用，从大面积纳米图案化和模板化到柔光驱动的机器人技术。要了解如何将偶氮苯的初始分子尺度光异构化本身本身是一个复杂的光化学事件，转化为大分子的响应，甚至转化为被照明的偶氮材料的宏观尺度运动，这是一项艰巨的任务。这里的重点是如何通过应用不同的振动光谱技术提高知识的水平，这些技术为化学特定分子部分的光响应提供了丰富的分子见解。特别要强调的是红外和拉曼光谱研究，