Optical rotatory dispersion from liquid crystalline solutions and films of hydroxypropylcellulose

The chiroptical properties of (hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC) in methanol are measured by optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), both in isotropic solution and in the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase. The ORD spectra of HPC films cast from lyotropic solution are also examined. Isotropic solutions of HPC in methanol provide no ORD evidence for the presence of a helical conformation, or for concentration-induced changes in conformation. The ORD curve of HPC in methanol, when expressed as specific rotation, is independent of polymer concentration for isotropic solutions containing between 1 and 43 per cent polymer by weight. From the slope of Drude plots, the Cotton effect responsible for the observed ORD curve occurs at 175-180 nm. However a 45 per cent liquid crystal-line solution exhibits plain positive dispersion, and the magnitude of the specific rotation is also much greater than that found for solutions containing less than 43 per cent polymer. Results for more concentrated solutions confirm that ORD spectra of lyotropic liquid crystals of HPC in methanol contain a significant positive component that is not accounted for by the de Vries equation for cholesteric reflection. ORD measurements in other solvents and on dry films show that this contribution to the optical activity vanishes when the solvent is removed or when hydrogen bonding is disrupted. The effect is tentatively ascribed to a hydrogen bonded structure that contributes strongly to the optical rotation.