Synthesis and phase behaviour of a homologous seriesof polymethacrylate-based side-chain liquid crystal polymers

The homologous series of side chain liquid crystal polymers, the poly[¿-(4-methoxyazobenzene-4¿-oxy)alkyl methacrylate]s, has been prepared in which the length of the flexible alkyl spacer has been varied from 3 to 11 methylene units. All the polymers exhibit liquid crystalline behaviour. The propyl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cook, Andrew G., Inkster, Rachel T., Martinez-Felipe, Alfonso, Hamley, Ian W., Ribes-Greus, A.|||0000-0003-2460-8291, Imrie, Corrie T.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/31801
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/31801
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Liquid crystals
Side chain liquid crystal polymer
Smectic A phase
Alkyl spacers
Flexible spacer
Homologous series
Liquid-crystalline
Side chain liquid crystal polymers
Side-chains
Smectic layers
Smectic phase
Smectic-A
X ray diffraction
Liquid crystal polymers
MAQUINAS Y MOTORES TERMICOS
Descripción
Sumario:The homologous series of side chain liquid crystal polymers, the poly[¿-(4-methoxyazobenzene-4¿-oxy)alkyl methacrylate]s, has been prepared in which the length of the flexible alkyl spacer has been varied from 3 to 11 methylene units. All the polymers exhibit liquid crystalline behaviour. The propyl and butyl members show exclusively nematic behaviour. The pentyl, hexyl, octyl and decyl members show a nematic and a smectic A phase while the heptyl, nonyl and undecyl homologues exhibit only a smectic A phase. The smectic A phase has been studied using X-ray diffraction and assigned as a smectic A 1 phase in which the side chains are fully overlapped and the backbones are confined to lie between the smectic layers. For the nonyl member an incommensurate smectic phase is observed. The dependence of the transition temperatures on the length of the flexible spacer is understood in terms of the average shapes of the side chains. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.