Effect of lateral substituents on the mesomorphic properties of side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes containing 4-[(S)-2-methyl-1-butoxy]phenyl 4-(alkenyloxy)benzoate side groups

The synthesis of side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes containing either 4-[(S)-2-methyl-1-butoxy]phenyl 4-(alkenyloxy)benzoate or laterally fluoro-, chloro-, bromo-, and methoxy-substituted 4-[(S)-2-methyl-1-butoxy]phenyl 4-(alkenyloxy)benzoate mesogenic side groups is presented. The mesomorphic properties of the synthesized polymers have been characterized by optical polarizing microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The effects of spacer length and lateral substituent on the mesomorphic properties of the obtained polymers are examined. The five polymers which contain three methylene units in the spacers show no mesophase, while the five polymers which contain eleven methylene units in the spacer display smectic mesomorphism. Among the other fifteen polymers which contain respectively four, five, or six methylene units in the spacers, those with small fluoro and chloro substituents reveal respectively an S_A phase, while those with bulky bromo and methoxy substituents show no liquid crystalline behavior. The experimental results demonstrate that introducing a bulky lateral substituent into the mesogenic core of a polymer depresses the tendency to form a mesophase. Furthermore, the technique of thermally stimulated current has been used to study the dipolar relaxation mechanisms in a side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxane. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 2793–2800, 1997     

SYNTHESIS AND-CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SOLUBLE, HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND LADDERLIKE POLYHYDROSILSESQUIOXANE AND ITS COPOLYMERS

The high molecular ladderlike polyhydrosilsesquioxane (LPHSQ) and its copolymer, ladderlike random copolymethylhydrosilsesquioxane (LR-PMHSQ) and ladderlike block copolymethylsilsesqui-oxane(LB-PMHSQ) have been synthesized by a preaminolysis reaction of the corresponding trichlorosilane with 1 ,4-phenylene diamine(PDA) then by hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions The thermographs of these polymers measured by DSC method indicate that these macromolecular backbones are very rigid as seen from the DSC curves which are almost horizontal from room temperature until 350 ~C without noticeable glass transition. The content of Si—H group in the polymers can be regulated by changing the composition of the two copolymerized monomers. So the ladderlike polymers including its copolymers can be the useful precursors for the functional polymers, especially such as fishbone-like liquid crystalline polymers.     

SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF NEW MESOGEN-JACKETED LIQUID CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS*

Some new mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymers (MJLCP) with polymer backbones, spacers, andmesogenic units of different structures were synthesized by radical polymerization. The mesomorphic behavior of thesepolymers was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). Theirliquid crystallinity is influenced by the variation of polymer backbone, spacer, mesogenic unit and its terminal groups. Theresults show that 1) a more flexible polymer main-chain is more favorable to the formation of a liquid crystal phase, while 2)a flexible spacer will decrease the "Jacket Effect" and the liquid crystallinity and 3) a subtle modification of the terminalgroups on the mesogenic unit may also have a significant influence on properties of the polymers.     

Synthesis and characterization of side-chain liquid crystalline polymer containing dichroic dye monomer

A series of side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes containing 1-(p-toluidino)-4-anthraquinone undecylenate (TAU) (dye-monomer) and 4-allyloxybenzoyl-4^′-(p-propyl-benzoyl)-p-benzenediol bisate (ABB) (liquid crystalline monomer) side groups were synthesized by copolymeraztion. The molecular structures of the monomers and polymers were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The optical characterization of the monomer ABB and polymers was made by using polarizing optical microscopy (POM) technique, and their thermal behaviour was investigated by thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The conjugate action of the dye (1-(p-toluidino)-4-hydroxyl anthraquinone) and the monomer was analyzed by fluorophotometry. Polymers and monomer ABB revealed nematic phase. And DSC results demonstrated that the glass transition temperatures (T_g) of the polymers increased with the increase in dye-monomer. TGA result showed that the temperatures at which 5% mass loss occurred () for all the polymers were above 270 °C.     

Conjugated polymer liquid crystal solutions: control of conformation and alignment

Stable solutions of conjugated poly(phenylene vinylene)s and poly(phenylene ethynylene)s in nematic liquid crystals are reported. The polymers all contain triptycene units fused into their backbones to obtain the high solubility needed to maintain solubility in complex liquid crystalline media. The polymer backbones align with the director of the nematic liquid crystal, and by applying electric fields the polymers can be reoriented. The polymers all displayed lower band gaps in the liquid crystal solvents relative to those obtained in standard solvents such as methylene chloride. Hence, the liquid crystal solution induces a chain-extended highly conjugated structure in the polymers, which is generally associated with optimization of the polymer properties.     

Liquid crystal properties of a mesogenic polyacetylene, poly(11-[(4'-heptoxy-4-biphenylyl)carbonyloxy]-1-undecyne)

The liquid crystalline properties of a mesogenic poly(1-alkyne) and the corresponding monomer were studied using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The monomer exhibits a monotropic smectic A phase and a metastable crystalline phase. The rigid polymer backbones do not prevent the mesogenic moieties from packing into smectic A and B phases in the temperature ranges 127.6-74.1°C and 74.1°C-room temperature, respectively, on cooling from the isotropic melt.     

Mesogen-jacketed Liquid Crystal Polymers With Mesogens of Aromatic Amide Structure

The synthesis and property of a new series of "mesogen-jacketed liquid crystal polymers" are reported. These polymers have aromatic amide structures as the mesogenic groups and are represented by poly-2,5-bis(4-methoxy- benzamido)styrene. The preliminary study on properties shows that the polymers have very high glass transition temperatures as well as very low critical concentrations for the formation of the lyotropic liquid crystal phase. The results indicate a high degree of chain rigidity. However, the liquid crystalline order of molecular organization in bulk samples disappears upon heating to the glass transition temperature as revealed by polarizing microscopy and by X-ray diffractometer. Therefore, the liquid crystalline order of these polymers forms only through solution but not through heating. This behavior is different from that of the previously studied poly-2,5-bis[(4-methoxybenzoyl)oxy]styrene and its homologs. The latter polymers are liquid crystals both lyotropically and thermotropically. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of Liquid Crystalline Polymers with Side Chains

The present paper covers the synthesis and characterization of several intermediate products, monomer, and polymers. 3-{ 2-[ 4-( 4-Nitrophenylazo ) phenoxy] ethyloxycarbonyl} propanoyloxy (2-hydroxy) propyl acrylate (4) was prepared by the ring-opening reaction of glycidyl acrylate with the monoester of succinic acid (3). The polymers (5) with different molecular weights were prepared by the free-radical polymerization. The polymers (5) had liquid crystalline behavior without decomposition as revealed by DSC, optical microscope.     

Synthesis and characterization of 6-[4-(trans -4-pentylcyclohexyl)phenoxy]hexyl acrylate homopolymer and copolymers

The compound 6-[4-(trans -4-pentylcyclohexyl)phenoxy]hexyl acrylate (2) was prepared and homopolymerized. The block copolymer and copolymer of 2 with styrene were synthesized by photopolymerization and solution techniques, respectively. These polymers were characterized by IR and ¹H NMR spectra and size exclusion chromatography. Polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that these polymers exhibited smectic A (SmA) phases. POM showed that the homopolymer showed a higher order SmA phase than did the block copolymer and copolymer. After magnetically forced alignment the samples exhibited similar optical texture but the domain size of the liquid crystalline phase increased. Differential scanning calorimetry, POM and XRD data suggest that the SmA domain size decreased in the order hompolymer > block copolymer > copolymer.     

Structure and internal dynamics of a side chain liquid crystalline polymer in various phases by molecular dynamics simulations: a step towards coarse graining

Side chain liquid crystalline polymer with relatively long spacer was modeled on a semiatomistic level and studied in different liquid crystalline phases with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. Well equilibrated isotropic, polydomain smectic and monodomain smectic phases were studied for their structural and dynamic properties. Particular emphasis was given to the analysis on a coarse-grained level, where backbones, side chains, and mesogens were considered in terms of their equivalent ellipsoids. The authors found that the liquid crystalline phase had a minor influence on the metrics of these objects but affected essentially their translational and orientational order. In the monodomain smectic phase, mesogens, backbones, and side chains are confined spatially. Their diffusion and shape dynamics are frozen along the mesogen director (the one-dimensional solidification) and the reorientation times increase by one to one-and-half orders of magnitude. In this phase, besides obvious orientational order of mesogens and side chains, a stable detectable order of the backbones was also observed. The backbone director is confined in the plane perpendicular to the mesogen director and constantly changes its orientation within this plane. The backbone diffusion in these planes is of the same range as in the polydomain smectic phase at the same temperature. A detailed analysis of the process of field-induced growth of the smectic phase was performed. The study revealed properties of liquid crystalline polymers that may enable their future fully coarse-grained modeling.     

5-{[(4′-正戊基氧-4-联苯基基)羰基]氧}-1-戊炔的相转变与相结构

采用差示扫描量热(DSC)、一维(1D)广角X射线衍射(WAXD)、热台偏光显微镜(PLM-hotstage)等研究手段对含联苯液晶基元的侧链液晶聚炔单体5-{[(4′-正戊基氧-4-联苯基基)羰基]氧}-1-戊炔(A3EO5)的本体相转变和相结构进行了研究.DSC和1D-WAXD实验结果表明,A3EO5在升温和降温过程中均呈现四个相转变过程,形成双向性液晶.样品从各向同性态降温至室温过程中,首先形成近晶A相,随后进入层内排列具有准长程有序的近晶B相,继续降温将形成层内为正交排列的近晶E相,在此之后样品进入晶相.PLM结果指出样品在各向同性态降温过程中分别形成球状织构、角锥织构和同心圆弧织构.     

一系列新的席夫碱型液晶高分子冠醚的合成与表征

以 4,4′ (α,ω 烷亚甲基二酰氧 )二苯甲醛和二氨基二苯并 1 5 冠 5为单体 ,采用溶液缩聚方法 ,合成了一类新的席夫碱型液晶高分子冠醚 .一种单体采用脂族二酰氯和对羟基苯甲醛反应制备 ,另一种新的单体采用二硝基二苯并 1 5 冠 5 ,在钯 碳催化剂存在下 ,水合肼还原制备 .合成的二硝基和二氨基 二苯并 1 5 冠 5 ,未能从IR和1 H NMR谱图上区分它们的几何异构体 .聚合物的分子量不高 ,Mn 在 1 0 1 0 0～ 1 3 0 0 0之间 .单体的结构通过元素分析、IR、1 H NMR和MS等方法确证 .聚合物的性质采用GPC、DSC、TG和POM等方法进行了研究 .发现所有的聚合物加热到各自的熔融温度 (Tm)以上都能形成液晶态 ,在液晶态可以观察到向列相的丝状织构和纹影织构 .聚合物的玻璃化转变温度 (Tg)、熔融温度和各向同性温度 (Ti)随聚合物分子中柔性间隔基的变化而变化 ,它们有较高的清亮点温度和宽的液晶态温度范围 .WAXD的研究进一步证实了聚合物的液晶性     

Frustrated molecular packing in highly ordered smectic phase of side-chain liquid crystalline polymer with rigid polyacetylene backbone

Using poly(5-{[(4'-heptoxy-4-biphenylyl)carbonyl]oxy}-1-pentyne) as an example, we demonstrate the incorporative accommodation of the rigid polyacetylene backbones and the mesogenic pendants, which leads to a highly ordered smectic (Sm) phase with a frustrated structure. The polymer exhibits a recognizable sheetlike molecular shape due to its rigid backbone and relatively short spacer (three methylene units), and the building block of the liquid crystalline (LC) phase is the whole molecule. In the LC phase, five layers of the molecules stack as a smectic A (SmA) block, and adjacent SmA blocks glide halfway of the molecular width from one to another. In scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments, the STM tip scrape is found to generate a regular nanopattern with periodic electron conductivity, of which the spacing is determined by the side-chain length.     

Side chain type ionic liquid crystalline polymers having high Preliminary communication molecular weight

Side chain type ionic liquid crystalline polymers having a 4-(1,3-dioxan-2-yl)pyridinium structure in their mesogenic side chain were synthesized. These polymers exhibited the smectic A phase. The molecular weights of these ionic liquid crystalline polymers are very high, e.g. for compound 7 - 2 M_w = 486 000.     

Preparation and thermotropic liquid crystalline properties of semirigid copolyurethanes composed of biphenyl units and partially fluorinated aliphatic chains

New semirigid thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) copolyurethanes 4 and 5 made up of biphenyl units and partially fluorinated aliphatic chains in the backbones were synthesized by melt polycondensation of a mixture of a dioxydihexanol of biphenyl 1 and two fluorine-containing diols 2a , b taken in definite feed mole ratios with alkylene diphenyl dicarbamates 3a–i having various lengths of aliphatic chains. The assigned structures of copolyurethanes 4 and 5 were identified by FTIR, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra, and elemental analyses. The thermal and mesogenic properties were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal mechanical analyses (TMA), polarizing microscopy, and temperature-changeable X-ray analyses, whose measurements indicated that the copolymers 4 and 5 form thermotropic nematic phases and have glass transition steps around room temperature. It is suggested that the incorporation of partially fluorinated aliphatic chains into the backbones has no drastic effect on the LC formation in the semirigid copolyurethanes 4 and 5 . © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1243–1249, 1998     

Self-assembled 1,2-bis[4-(4-(10-decyloxy)phenylazo)]benzoylhydrazine dimer and its hydrogen-bonded complexes

We report the synthesis and investigation of a new self-assembled benzoylhydrazine-based compound, namely 1,2-bis[4-(4-(10-decyloxy)phenylazo)]benzoylhydrazine and their hydrogen-bonded complexes with different carboxylic acid derivatives, of which some exhibit liquid crystalline properties and some are non-mesogens. The conversion of the non-liquid crystalline target compound that is free from carboxylic acid to liquid crystalline complexes containing various carboxylic acids can probably be rationalised through the breaking of intermolecular hydrogen bonding within the supramolecular assembly by carboxylic acid dopants. The enhancement of liquid crystalline properties of benzoylhydrazine compounds with respect to various carboxylic dopants is documented. Other salient features can be exemplified by the formation of discotic columnar phase as shown by the azo-linkage containing 4-(4′-(10-decyloxy)phenylazo)benzoic acid-doped complex.     

Preparation of new supramolecular liquid-crystalline polyesters containing 3-chloro-4-(alkoxy)benzoic acids

Supramolecular liquid-crystalline polyester complexes based on intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the carboxylic group and the pyridyl moieties was prepared by using non-liquid-crystalline H-donors, [3-chloro-4-(butyloxy)benzoic acid (2a), 3-chloro-4-(octyloxy)benzoic acid (2b), 3-chloro-4-(dodecyloxy)benzoic acid (2c) and 3-chloro-4-(tetradecyloxy)benzoic acid (2d)] and H-acceptor-polyester containing pyridyl units. Intermolecular hydrogen bond formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The liquid-crystalline behavior of the complex formed was established by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). The polyester complexes containing 2c and 2d donor components exhibit liquid crystalline mesophase and behave as side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers. Compared with unsubstituted parent acid, the presence of chloro group as a lateral substituent has a little negative effect on the induction of liquid crystallinity on the polyester complexes systems. The results show that the more stability of the obtained H-bonded complexes in comparison with analogues without 3-Cl substituents is due to the increased acidity of benzoic acid moiety.     

Side chain type ionic liquid crystalline polymers having high Preliminary communication molecular weight

Side chain type ionic liquid crystalline polymers having a 4-(1,3-dioxan-2-yl)pyridinium structure in their mesogenic side chain were synthesized. These polymers exhibited the smectic A phase. The molecular weights of these ionic liquid crystalline polymers are very high, e.g. for compound 7 - 2 M _w = 486 000.     

聚丙烯酸[2,5-双(对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基)苄酯]及聚甲基丙烯酸[2,5-双(对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基)苄酯]的合成

周其凤等曾报道聚丙烯酸［２,５－双（对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基）节酯］［１］和聚甲基丙烯酸［２,５－双（对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基）苄酯］［２］的合成．但后来的研究发现,在合成单体的条件下出现的一种未见报道的异常反应［３］使产物成分复杂化,因此当时报道的聚合物可能不是聚丙烯酸［２,５－双－（对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基）苄酯］或聚甲基丙烯酸［２,５－双（对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基）苄酯］,而可能是共聚物．针对这一问题,我们重新设计了合成路线以避免发生上述副反应,成功地合成了丙烯酸或ａ－甲基丙烯酸［２,５－双－（对甲氧基苯甲酰氧基…     

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

The homologous series of side chain liquid crystal polymers, the poly[ω-(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 A₁ 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.