In situ atomic force microscopy studies of reversible light-induced switching of surface roughness and adhesion in azobenzene-containing PMMA films

► Morphology and adhesion of azobenzene-containing polymer films studied by AFM. ► Direct observation of highly reversible photoinduced changes. ► In situ measurements of transition kinetics reveal several processes with different time scales. ► A model for these reversible morphological transitions is presented.