In recent years, progress in optics and photonics stimulated the rapid development of multifunctional photoswitchable materials. The ability to manipulate the mechanical, optical and electronic properties of such materials is of paramount interest for emergent technologies. Combination of liquid crystalline order and photoresponsive properties of the mesogens gave rise to the development of photochromic liquid crystals. One of the most exciting themes in this area is the light-driven self-assembly at the nanoscale. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in the field of photoswitchable liquid crystals with a focus on bend-shaped liquid crystals and photoswitchable dendrimers. Photoinduced phase transitions, photo-orientation and alignment, photo-mechanical and photo-rheological effects have been highlighted and discussed.

近年来，光学和光子学的进步刺激了多功能光开关材料的快速发展。操纵这种材料的机械，光学和电子特性的能力对于新兴技术至关重要。液晶顺序和液晶元的光响应特性的组合引起了光致变色液晶的发展。该领域最令人兴奋的主题之一是纳米级的光驱动自组装。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了光开关液晶领域的最新进展，重点是弯曲形液晶和光开关树状聚合物。光致相变，光取向和取向，光机械和光流变效应已得到强调和讨论。