Light‐Induced Reorganization in Self‐Assembled Liquid Crystal Gels: Electrically Switchable Diffraction Gratings

Electrically switchable diffraction gratings can be formed in the self‐assembled cholesteric liquid crystal gels prepared using an azobenzene‐containing gelator. The grating formation (see Figure) results from a light‐induced reorganization process in these materials, which leads to the removal of the nanometer‐sized fibrous aggregates of the gelator from the irradiated area to the non‐irradiated area.