Jeong, Seung PyoRenna, Lawrence A.Boyle, Connor J.Kwak, Hyunwook S.Harder, EdwardDamm, WolfgangVenkataraman, Dhandapani2024-04-262018-01-052017-01-01https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17906-whttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/6618Energy densities of ~510 J/g (max: 698 J/g) have been achieved in azobenzene-based syndiotactic-rich poly(methacrylate) polymers. The processing solvent and polymer-solvent interactions are important to achieve morphologically optimal structures for high-energy density materials. This work shows that morphological changes of solid-state syndiotactic polymers, driven by different solvent processings play an important role in controlling the activation energy of Z-E isomerization as well as the shape of the DSC exotherm. Thus, this study shows the crucial role of processing solvents and thin film structure in achieving higher energy densities.UMass Amherst Open Access Policyhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ChemistryMaterials Chemistryarticle0000-0003-2906-0579