The cyclolinear polyorganosiloxanes - a new class of mesomorphic polymers

The paper summarizes the recent achievements concerning the influence of the chemical structure and rigidity of cyclolinear polyorganosiloxane chains on the glassy, crystalline and mesophase behaviour with a special emphasis on the temperature range of mesophase stability and some thermal, X-ray and optical characteristics of their mesophase state. The packing of macromolecules in the mesophase state is suggested.