A tin-containing liquid crystalline polymer with two glass temperatures

A tin-containing liquid crystalline side group polymer was synthesized and characterized. Two glass transitions were detected by calorimetric investigations. The X-ray pattern corresponds to a smectic C order of the side groups and a disordered isotropic main chain. Dielectric measurements show two relaxation ranges which are influenced by the glass transitions and a fast local process. The low frequency mechanism can be related to the reorientation of the side groups and the higher glass transition temperature. The second is connected with the α-relaxation of the main chain and freezes in at lower temperatures.