Syntheses and alignment behavior of liquid crystalline polymethacrylates having 2‐ and 4‐styrylpyridine moieties

Two kinds of polymethacrylates, 1 and 2 , with 2‐styrylpyridine and 4‐styrylpyridine moiety as a photoreactive group, which have a benzoate group as a mesogenic unit, and hexylene group as a flexible spacer in the same side chain, were synthesized to characterize their alignment behaviors. The UV absorption and fluorescence studies on the two polymers revealed that the latter polymer with the 4‐stylrylpyridine moiety is more aggregative than the former polymer with the 2‐styrylpyridine moiety. The polymer 1 showed a nematic phase structure at 170 °C, while 2 appeared in a partially bilayered smectic A phase structure in the homeotropic direction at 175 °C. The polymer 1 film generated an in‐plane alignment by a linearly polarized UV light irradiation and subsequent annealing, and its direction was parallel with respect to the irradiation. On the other hand, the polymer 2 film with the same treatments gave a high out‐of‐plane order parameter of 0.73 in a wide temperature range of 120–240 °C. The significant differences in the aggregation behavior, the liquid‐crystalline structure, and the alignment between the two polymers were discussed by the structural differences between the 2‐ and 4‐styrylpyridine moieties in the two polymers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5371–5380, 2008     

Crosslinking of polyaromatic ether-ketones with biphenylene derivatives

Polyaromatic ether-ketones prepared from isophthaloyl dichloride, diphenyl ether, and various amounts of biphenylene and its derivative, were compressed to films under various conditions, and their crosslinking behaviors were studied. Although strong and flexible films could be obtained from low melting crosslinkable polymers, the low molecular weight polymers, which melt below 300°C, decompose at the biphenylene ring opening temperature of over 290°C, giving films full of gas bubbles. The addition of metal complexes to decrease the biphenylene ring opening temperature did not improve the film quality, although gas bubbles could be avoided. The strong and flexible films were amorphous, and the brittle films were mixtures of crystalline and amorphous polymers.     

Preparation and emission properties of various poly(dimethylsilylenearylenevinylene)s: Effects of geometric structures and π units on their emission properties

trans‐Poly(dimethylsilylenearylenevinylene)s (trans‐rich) and cis‐poly(dimethylsilylenearylenevinylene)s (cis‐rich) containing phenylene, biphenylene, and phenylenesilylenephenylene units were prepared by hydrosilylation catalyzed with the RhI(PPh₃)₃ complex. The addition of a phenylene π unit to poly(silylenephenylenevinylene) expanded the conjugation in the main chain, whereas the insertion of a dimethylsilylene σ unit in the biphenylene moiety reduced the conjugation. UV spectra of the trans‐type polymers showed redshifts and hyperchromic effects with respect to those of the cis‐type polymers, indicating wider conjugation, and the quantum yields of emission of the former polymers were much higher than those of the latter polymers. The quantum yield of the trans‐rich polymer with the biphenylene moiety reached 0.15, which was about 10² times as large as those of trans‐type polymers with phenylene (3.4 × 10^?3) and phenylenesilylenephenylene (1.9 × 10^?3) moieties. The effects of the geometric structure and π unit on the absorption and emission properties of these polymers were examined with molecular orbital methods. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 535–543, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10139     

A novel benzimidazole‐containing phthalonitrile monomer with unique polymerization behavior

A novel benzimidazole‐containing phthalonitrile monomer (BIPN) was synthesized. The chemical structure of BIPN was confirmed by various spectroscopic techniques. Differential scanning calorimetry measurement revealed that the self‐promoted polymerization reaction of the BIPN proceeds extremely sluggish and showed low polymerization exothermic effect. Subsequent rheological measurement displayed that the BIPN was able to keep a stable and low melt viscosity for 4 h at 300 °C, 2 h at 310 °C, and 50 min at 330 °C. The derived BIPN polymers showed excellent thermal properties revealed by thermogravimetric analysis, which were better than those of the corresponding polymer derived from phthalonitrile monomer without benzimidazole moiety. IR analysis confirmed the occurrence of the triazine ring within the polymer crosslinking sites. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and characterization of azo–bisbenzylidene‐based polymers for second order nonlinear optics

Main chain polymers containing azo and bisbenzylidene moiety were synthesized by polycondensation method. The successful polymerization reaction was characterized by UV–vis absorption, FT‐IR and NMR spectroscopy. The resulting polymers were soluble in polar solvents like dimethyl formamide (DMF) and showed good thermal stability up to 250 °C. These polymers were blended with poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and corona poled for characterizing second harmonic generation (SHG) property. Temperature stability study of SHG intensity of poled polymer showed that it is stable up to 80 °C. To improve temperature stability further the crosslinking of polymer under UV light is proposed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 4317–4324     

Synthesis and absorption/emission properties of novel poly(silylenearylenevinylene)s

Polymerization of p-(dimethylsilyl)phenylacetylene in toluene at 25 and 80 °C with RhI(PPh₃)₃ catalyst afforded highly regio- and stereoregular poly(dimethylsilylene-1,4-phenylenevinylene)s [cis- and trans-poly( 1a )s] containing 98% cis- and 99% trans-vinylene moieties, respectively. The trans-type polymers exhibited redshifts and hyperchromic effects in the ultraviolet–visible spectrum as compared with the cis-type counterparts. Photoirradiation of cis- and trans-poly( 1a )s gave cis-rich mixtures at equilibrium states. The trans and cis polymers exhibited different emission properties, for example—trans polymer, emissn λ_max = 400 nm, quantum yield: 3.4 × 10⁻³ and cis polymer, emissn λ_max = 380 nm, quantum yield: 1.5 × 10⁻³. Besides poly( 1a ), poly(dimethylsilylenearylenevinylene)s containing biphenylene and phenylenesilylenephenylene units [poly( 3 )] were prepared. The extent of conjugation in these polymers decreased in the orders of biphenylene > phenylene > phenylenesilylenephenylene as well as trans-vinylene > cis-vinylene. The quantum yield of the trans-rich polymer with biphenylene moiety was fairly large and 0.15. Polyaddition of 1,4-bis(dimethylsilyl)benzene and three types of diethynylarenes (4,4′-diethynylbiphenyl, 2,7-diethynylfluorene, and 2,6-diethynylnaphthalene) catalyzed by RhI(PPh₃)₃ provided novel regio- and stereoregular polymers [poly( 6 )]. These polymers displayed blue light emission with high quantum yields (4–81%). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3615–3624, 2003     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(aryl ether)s containing the pyrimidine moiety

A series of new poly(aryl ether)s containing the pyrimidine moiety were prepared by a nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization reaction in an aprotic solvent (DMAc) in the presence of excess potassium carbonate. These polymers are high molecular weight, amorphous, and soluble in common solvents at room temperature. The polymers are easily cast from solution into flexible, colorless, and transparent films. They showed high glass transition temperatures ranging from 198 to 304°C by DSC analysis. The 5% weight losses by thermogravimetric analysis ranged from 478 to 580°C, indicating that these polymers are very thermostable in nitrogen and air. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1107–1110, 1998     

Synthesis and properties of photochromic liquid‐crystalline copolymers containing both spironaphthoxazine and cholesteryl groups

Photochromic liquid‐crystalline copolymers consisting of a photochromic monomeric unit containing both a spironaphthoxazine group and an undecamethylene spacer, and a liquid‐crystalline monomeric unit containing both a cholesteryl group and a decamethylene spacer were prepared to investigate the effect of the thermal properties of the photochromic monomeric unit on the mesomorphic order of the side chain of the related copolymers. The photochromic liquid‐crystalline copolymers containing a photochromic liquid‐crystalline monomeric unit showed only a smectic phase. On the other hand, the photochromic liquid‐crystalline copolymers containing a photochromic non‐liquid‐crystalline monomeric unit showed a chiral nematic phase (cholesteric phase). The photochromic chiral nematic liquid‐crystalline copolymer containing 14 mol % photochromic monomeric unit reflected visible light around 104 °C. To lower the temperature range of reflection of visible light, cholesteryl oleyl carbonate was used as a chiral nematic plasticizer for the photochromic chiral liquid‐crystalline polymer systems. Photo‐induced pitch change of the mixture by means of UV irradiation was investigated and it was concluded that the pitch change observed under UV irradiation was mainly induced by thermal effect in the case of our system. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 887–894, 2000     

Synthesis and optical properties of novel blue‐light‐emitting poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) derivatives with pendant oxadiazole or cyano groups

Two novel poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) polymers, which carried side substituents with cyano groups or 1,3,4‐oxadiazole, were synthesized by Heck coupling. They consisted of alternating conjugated segments and nonconjugated aliphatic spacers. The polymers had moderate molecular weights, were amorphous, and dissolved readily in tetrahydrofuran and halogenated organic solvents. They were stable up to approximately 340 °C in N₂ and 290 °C in air, and the anaerobic char yield was around 60% at 800 °C. The polymer with cyano side groups emitted blue light in solutions and thin films with identical photoluminescence (PL) maximum at 450 nm; this supported the idea that chain interactions were hindered even in the solid state. The PL maximum of this polymer in thin films was blueshifted upon annealing at 120 °C, indicating a thermochromic effect as a result of conformational changes in the polymer backbone. The polymer containing side substituents with oxadiazole rings emitted blue light in solutions with a PL maximum at 474 nm and blue‐greenish light in thin films with a PL maximum at 511 nm. The PL quantum yields of the polymers in tetrahydrofuran were 0.13–0.24. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1768–1778, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of novel photoisomerizable liquid crystalline polymers containing cinnamoyl groups

A series of novel liquid crystalline monomers and polymers incorporating phenylbenzoate or phenylcinnamate segments as mesogenic cores have been synthesized to investigate the sensitivity of the photochromic cinnamoyl derivatives and to overcome the defects of the thermal instability of azobenzene. Their liquid crystalline, thermal, and photoinduced properties of all monomers and polymers were characterized. The polymers showed excellent solubility in common organic solvents such as CHCl₃, toluene, and DMF and exhibited good thermal stability with decomposition temperatures (T_d) at 5% weight loss greater than 340 °C and about 50% weight loss occurred beyond 430 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. The pitch length (about 574 nm) of the synthesized cholesteric polymeric film ( CP2 ) was estimated using scanning electron microscopy. These photochromic polymers exhibited strong UV–vis absorption maxima at about 264 or 320 nm. Moreover, photo induced configurational E/Z isomerization further changed the π‐electron conjugation systems leading to a decrease at the π‐π* transition and an increase in the range of 300 nm to 400 nm for photochromic copolymers. The thermal stability of the Z‐structural segment was confirmed by heating the polymer at 50 °C for over 5 h. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1289–1304, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyimides with bulky pendant groups

New dianhydrides containing t‐butyl and phenyl pendant groups have been synthesized and used as monomers, together with commercial diamines, to prepare novel polyimides. The influence of the chemical structure of the monomers on their reactivity has been studied by quantum semiempirical methods. The polyimides have been characterized by FTIR and by NMR in the case of soluble polymers. The presence of pendant groups and the method used to imidize polyimide precursors greatly affected polymer properties such as solubility, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. As a rule, the novel polyimides showed better solubility in organic solvents than the parent polyimides. Glass transition temperatures in the range 250–270°C and decomposition temperatures over 520°C were observed for the set of current polymers. Tensile strengths up to 135 MPa and mechanical moduli up to 3.0 GPa were measured on films of the current polyimides. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 805–814, 1999     

Photochromic chiral liquid crystalline systems containing spiro-oxazine with a chiral substituent I. Synthesis and characterization of compounds

Photochromic acrylates containing both biphenylene and spiro-oxazine moieties with a chiral substituent and the related polymers were prepared and yielded photochromic chiral liquid crystalline systems. The photochromic acrylates containing both an undecamethylene group and a (2S, 3S)-2-chloro-3-methylpentanoyloxy group (A11SOP) or a (-)-menthoxyacetoxy group (A11SOM) gave a supercooled mesophase; the latter reflected right-handed visible light (blue colour) at room temperature. On the other hand, the photochromic acrylate containing both the (R)-(-)-2-methylpropylene and (2S, 3S)-2-chloro-3-methylpentanoyloxy groups (A3SOP) showed no mesophase. The related homopolymers, PA11SOP and PA11SOM, did not exhibit mesophases because of steric hindrance between the side groups of the polymers. However, only PA11SOM exhibited shear-induced birefringence under 100-104°C. Several copolymers consisting of the nematogenic monomer, 4-[4-(6-acryloyloxyhexyloxy)benzoyloxy]benzonitrile (A6CN), and A11SOP or A11SOM possessed a smectic phase due to reduction of the steric hindrance between the potentially smectogenic A11SOP or A11SOM moieties.     

Influence of lateral substituents on thermal behavior and solubility of aromatic LC-polyesters

Structure - property relations of substituted para-linked aromatic homopolyesters are reported. Thermotropic liquid-crystalline substituted poly (1,4-phenylene terephthalate)s with phase transition temperatures less than 230 °C and good solubility in common organic solvents have been synthesized. If a noncoplanar 2,2′-disubstituted biphenylene moietyis combined with a monosubstituted phenylene moiety with sufficient bulky substituent, polyester with similar properties were obtained. Although these polyesters are soluble up to high concentrations, no lyotropic liquid-crystalline behavior was observable.     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of novel Y‐type polyurethane containing tricyanovinylthiazole with enhanced thermal stability of second harmonic generation

A novel Y‐type poly[iminocarbonyloxyethyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐{2‐thiazolylazo‐4‐(1,2,2‐tricyanovinyl)}resorcinoxyethyloxycarbonylimino‐(3,3′‐dimethoxy‐4,4′‐biphenylene)] 4 containing 5‐methyl‐4‐{5‐(1,2,2‐tricyanovinyl)‐2‐thiazolylazo}resorcinoxy groups as nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, which constitute part of the polymer backbone, was prepared and characterized. Polyurethane 4 is soluble in common organic solvents such as acetone and N,N‐dimethylformamide. It showed a thermal stability up to 250 °C in thermogravimetric analysis thermogram and the glass‐transition temperature (T_g) obtained from differential scanning calorimetry thermogram was around 118 °C. The second harmonic generation coefficient (d₃₃) of poled polymer films at 1560 nm fundamental wavelength was around 8.43 × 10^?9 esu. The dipole alignment exhibited a thermal stability even at 12 °C higher than T_g, and there was no SHG decay below 130 °C due to the partial main‐chain character of the polymer structure, which is acceptable for NLO device applications. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1166–1172, 2010     

Synthesis of a poly(vinyl ether) containing a benzocyclobutene moiety and its reaction with dienophiles

1‐Benzocyclobutenyl vinyl ether (1) was easily prepared by the elimination reaction of hydrogen bromide from 1‐benzocyclobutenyl 1‐bromoethyl ether obtained by 1‐bromobenzocyclobutene and ethylene glycol via two steps in a good yield. Cationic polymerizations of 1 was carried out at −78°C for 2 h in toluene in the presence of BF₃OEt₂ as an initiator to give quantitatively the corresponding polymers (2) as white solids. As a model reaction of the polymer reaction of 2 with dienophiles, the Diels–Alder reactions of 1‐methoxybenzocyclobutene with maleic anhydride (MA) in toluene at 100–140°C for 3 h were carried out to obtain the corresponding Diels–Alder adduct quantitatively at 140°C. The polymer reactions of 2 with MA and N‐phenylmaleimide (MI) in toluene were carried out to yield the corresponding Diels–Alder adduct polymers in good yields. The degree of introduction of the dienophile could be controlled by temperature, and the unreacted benzocyclobutene moiety could further react with another benzocyclobutene moiety or dienophile. The properties (solubilities, T_g, and temperature of 10% weight loss) of the polymers obtained from the polymer reaction were quite different from those of 2. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 59–67, 1999     

Synthesis and photoresponsive behavior of azobenzene-functionalized polythiophene films

In this paper, two kinds of azobenzene-functionalized polythiophene liquid-crystalline (LC) polymers with different spacer lengths (n = 6 and 11) were synthesized. The photochromic behaviors and photoresponsive property of these polymer films were investigated by means of spectrofluorophotometer, polarized optical microscope and ARC UV lamp. The results have shown that these liquid-crystalline polythiophene films exhibit a quite fast photochemical phase transition speed and a better opticalswitching property. Furthermore, the existence of the azobenzene moiety in the side chain has also rendered the polythiophene some interesting optical properties that can be modulated by UV light irradiation, e.g., the intensity of photoluminescent emission associated with the conjugated polythiophene main chain was found to decrease upon UV irradiation and the effect becomes more prominent when shorter spacers are used in between the azobenzene group and the main chain.     

Synthesis and properties of new polyarylates from 1,4‐bis(4‐carboxyphenoxy)naphthyl or 2,6‐bis(4‐carboxyphenoxy)naphthyl and various bisphenols

New 1,4‐naphthyl and 2,6‐naphthyl‐containing polyarylates having inherent viscosities up to 1.28 dL/g were synthesized by the high‐temperature solution polycondensation from the acid chloride of 1,4‐bis(4‐carboxyphenoxy)naphthyl or 2,6‐bis(4‐carboxyphenoxy)naphthyl and various bisphenols. Most of the resulting polyarylates showed amorphous characteristics and were readily soluble in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), o‐chlorophenol, and chloroform. Transparent, flexible, and colorless films of these polymers could be cast from the DMAc solutions. Their cast films had tensile strengths ranging from 54.9 to 84.2 MPa, elongations at break from 5.3% to 19.0%, and initial modulus from 2.0 to 2.8 GPa. These polymers had glass transition temperatures in the range of 172–280°C and began to lose weight around 400°C, with 10% weight loss being recorded at about 450°C in air. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) reveals that the polyarylates containing isopropylidene linkages have three transitions on the temperature scale between −100 and 300°C. However, only two transitions were observed in the other polyarylates without isoproylidene linkage. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 645–652, 1999     

Synthesis of a novel epoxy resin containing diphenylether moiety and thermal properties of its cured polymer with phenol novolac

A new type of epoxy resin containing 4,4′-diphenylether moiety in the backbone (2) was synthesized, and was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition, in order to evaluate the influence of 4,4′-diphenylether moiety in the structure, epoxy resins having 4,4′-biphenylene moiety (4) and having 1,4-phenylene moiety (6) in place of 4,4′-diphenylether moiety were synthesized. The cured polymer obtained through the curing reaction between the new diphenylether-containing epoxy resin and phenol novolac was used for making a comparison of its thermal and physical properties with those obtained from 4, 6, and bisphenol-A (4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol) type epoxy resin. The cured polymer obtained from 2 showed markedly higher anaerobic char yield at 700°C of 44.0 wt %, higher fracture toughness, and higher mechanical strength and modulus. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3687–3693, 1999     

Highly refractive polymer resin derived from sulfur‐containing aromatic acrylate

New sulfur‐containing polymers with high‐refractive indices and low birefringences have been developed as UV‐curable high‐refractive polymer resins. The polymers derived from 2,7‐bis[(2‐acryloylethyl)sulfanyl]thianthrene (2,7‐BAST) and 4,4′‐bis[(acryloyloxyethylthio)diphenylsulfide (4,4′‐BADS) were prepared by photopolymerization under UV irradiation. Transparent UV‐cured films were obtained in both cases. Both polymers showed good thermal stability, such as a 5% weight‐loss temperature at 355 °C under nitrogen and glass transition temperatures (T_g) in the range of 94–143 °C. They also showed high‐refractive indices of 1.6531 and 1.6645 at 632.8 nm and low birefringences of 0.0039 and 0.0069 in addition to high transparency in the visible region. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2604–2609, 2010     

High-temperature stability of a novel phenylethynyl liquid-crystalline thermoset

We report the synthesis of a new high-temperature liquid-crystalline thermoset based on the phenylethynyl functional group. The monomer was a nematic thermotropic liquid crystal with a melting temperature of 268 °C. The extrapolated onset of the cure exotherm occurred at 313 °C. The cured thermoset retained the nematic liquid-crystalline order of the parent monomer. The monomer and crosslinked resin were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The thermal stability of the crosslinked resin was determined in both air and nitrogen atmospheres at various heating rates. The onset of weight loss in air and nitrogen atmospheres was determined to be 397 and 422 °C, respectively, for a heating rate of 10 °C/min. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 4184–4190, 1999