Dielectric relaxations in bilayer structures of comb-like copolymers: Perfluoralkyl and liquid-crystalline side chains

Abstract : A series of comb-like copolymers and homopolymers containing different liquid-crystalline and perfluoralkyl side chains was studied by frequency and temperature dependent dielectric measurements. The structure and the phase behaviour of the systems were characterized by X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry. The dielectric relaxation spectra of these polymers reflect the molecular mobility in bilayer structures formed by the mesogenic or crystalline side chains. By changing temperature it was possible to investigate the molecular motions in the different phases of the copolymers (smectic-crystalline, smectic-isotropic, and isotropic). The homopolymer containing perfluoralkyl side chains and all copolymers show a β-relaxation at low temperatures, which is assigned to local molecular motions. Above the glass transition temperature, all samples exhibit a segmental (α) relaxation with WLF-like temperature dependence in the activation plots. For the polymers forming LC structures only one relaxation process was detected in all phases, i.e. in the smectic, nematic, and isotropic structure or, in case of the copolymers, in the smectic-crystalline and smectic-isotropic double structures. This process was attributed always to the segmental motions, assisted by tumbling motions of the mesogens. The phase transitions are clearly indicated by discontinuities in the dielectric relaxation times and changes in the relaxation strength Δϵ. The dipole reorientations of the mesogens seem to be more restricted by the crystalline layers in the copolymers as by the smectic order of the LC homopolymers.     

Creation of nematic and reentrant nematic phases in bi- and multi-component smectic mixtures

Abstract

Experimental results referring to the transformation of smectic phases, mainly smectic A, into nematic and reentrant nematic phases are reviewed. A new explanation of some experimental results is proposed. Factors which are responsible for the depression of smectic phases in mixtures of polar mesogens are discussed and the possibility of forming mixtures with a broad temperature range of nematic phase from smectic compounds, which can be useful for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), is shown. A nematic gap observed in some cases between monolayer (S_A1) or monolayer and partially bilayer (S_Ad) smectics results from the differences in the organization of the molecules in the smectic layers. It is concluded that polar phase from smectic A₁ phases can be divided into two groups: (a) the first one is characteristic for compounds with the -NCS, -F, -CI, -I or ?COC _m H_{2m + 1} terminal group. The spacing of the smectic layer slowly expands with the increase in alkyl chain length and the structure of the smectic A₁ phase slowly changes to be more like the smectic A_d phase (d/1 > 1). It is proposed that such a smectic is called an enhanced monolayer smectic (S_A1e (b) the second one is typical for compounds with the -CN terminal group. This kind of smectic A₁ phase is rapidly transformed into the smectic A_d phase with increasing alkyl chain length. These latter monolayer mesogens easily form the reentrant nematic phase when they are mixed with other polar smectic mesogens.     

Effect of terminal perfluorocarbon chain containing mesogens on phase behaviors of chiral comb-like liquid crystalline polymers

A novel perfluorinated liquid crystal 4′-(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-pentadecafluorooctanoyloxy)biphenyl-4-yl undec-10-enoate (PFOBU) was synthesized, which exhibited smectic C phase. Several liquid crystalline polymers (PI–PVI) were synthesized by use of poly(methylhydrogeno)siloxane, PFOBU, and cholesteryl 3-(4-allyloxy-phenyl)-acryloate. The chemical structures and liquid crystalline (LC) properties of the monomers and polymers, and some ferroelectric properties of the chiral smectic C (S_C^*) phase were characterized by use of various experimental techniques. The effect of perfluorocarbon chains on phase behaviors of the fluorinated LC polysiloxanes was studied as well. PI and PII showed single chiral nematic (N^*) mesophase when they were heated and cooled, but PIII, PIV, PV, and PVI containing more perfluorocarbon chain units exhibited S_C^* phase besides N^* mesophase. Introduction of perfluorocarbon chain containing mesogens to the chiral cholesteryl-containing polymer systems resulted in a S_C^* mesophases, indicating that the fluorophobic effect could lead to microphase segregation and modifications of smectic mesophases from the chiral nematic phase.     

New mesogens with cubic phases: hydrogen-bonded bipyridines and siloxane-containing benzoic acids II. Structural studies

The supramolecular structure of new hydrogen-bonded mesogens composed of dipyridyl and 4-(oligodimethylsiloxyl)alkoxybenzoic acids was investigated by X-ray diffraction and deuterium NMR. These H-bonded mesogens exhibit a cubic thermotropic liquid crystalline phase at a temperature below a smectic A phase. Moreover, above the smectic A phase two optically isotropic, low viscosity phases (I₁ and I₂) exist with the lower temperature I₁ phase comprising aggregated mesogens. Two broad, temperature-independent, wide angle X-ray reflections suggest that the aggregation is driven by nanophase-separation; the aggregate adopts a structure with one domain siloxane rich and the other hydrocarbon rich. In the isotropic melt near the I₁-to-I₂ phase transition, a very weak small angle reflection, indicates incipient lamellar-like clustering of the aggregated mesogens. With decreasing temperature the intensity of the small angle reflection increases and in the smectic A phase, the reflection becomes very sharp. In the cubic phase the small angle reflection splits into two peaks which can be indexed with a face-centred cubic (FCC) structure. The deuterium NMR measurements in the isotropic and smectic A phases are indicative of aggregation and an oriented, lamellarlike structure, respectively. In the cubic phase, the collapse of quadrupolar splittings is consistent with an isotropic average of the quadrupole interaction caused by mesogen translational diffusion through a cubic supramolecular structure.     

Interaction of blockcopolymer micelles as probed by small-angle neutron and by small-angle X-ray scattering

 The analysis of the interaction of micelles formed by a blockcopolymer is given by means of small-angle X-ray (SAXS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The blockcopolymer consists of poly(styrene) and poly(ethylene oxide) (molecular weight of each block: 1000 g/mol) and forms well-defined micelles (weight-association number: 400, weight-average diameter: 15.4 nm) in water. The internal structure has been studied previously (Macromolecules 29:4006 (1996)) by SAXS. There it has been shown that the micelles are spherical objects. The structure factor S(q) as a function of the scattering vector q (q=(4π/λ) sin (θ/2); λ: wavelength of the radiation in the medium; θ: scattering angle) can be extracted from both sets of small-angle scattering data (SANS: q≤0.4 nm^-1; SAXS: q≤0.6 nm^-1). It is shown that particle interaction in the present system can be described by assuming soft interaction which is modeled by a square-step potential. Received: 12 May 1997 Accepted: 9 July 1997     

Chiral side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes bearing fluorinated mesogens and cholesteryl groups

A series of chiral side-chain liquid crystalline (LC) polysiloxanes bearing fluorinated mesogens were synthesized with a cholesteric LC monomer and a fluorinated nematic LC monomer. They were characterized by use of various experimental techniques, and effect of fluorinated mesogens on characteristic of LC polysiloxanes was studied as well. In photoluminescence spectra, a narrow and a broad peak occur at around 270-317 nm, originated, respectively, from fluorinated phenyl groups and the conjugated xenene structure. The specific rotation analysis of all polymers showed negative values, but absolute values were lower than those of the chiral monomers. All polymers showed smectic LC phase with very wide temperature ranges on heating and cooling cycles. Especially, only polymers bearing more fluorinated component exhibited smectic-cholesteric phase transition when they were heated. As the polymers contained more fluorinated mesogens, segregation of the fluorinated segment to the surface should occur at mesomorphic temperature. The highly ordered lamellar mesogen-siloxane matrix systems should be disturbed severely by separation of fluorinated mesogens, suggesting mesogenic orders transition from lamellar smectic to cholesteric phase.     

Effect of counter-ion on the thermotropic liquid crystal behaviour of bis(alkyl)-tris(imidazolium salt) compounds

Recently, new thermotropic ionic liquid crystals (LCs) with a hexyl-linked tris(imidazolium bromide) core and two terminal alkyl chains were synthesised and characterised. To explore the effect of different counter-ions on the LC behaviour of this system, derivatives with BF₄^? and Tf₂N^? counter-ions were prepared and analysed. Five of the BF₄^? derivatives were found to exhibit thermotropic LC behaviour. The 12-, 14- and 16-carbon tail BF₄^? compounds form SmA phases. The 18- and 20-carbon tail homologues form what appears to be a smectic phase but are weakly mesogenic and harder to characterise. Only two of the Tf₂N^? derivatives exhibited mesogenic behaviour. The 18-carbon tail Tf₂N^? compound forms an as-yet unidentified, highly periodic smectic phase with positional order while the 20-carbon tail homologue forms a periodic SmA phase. The Tf₂N^? mesogens have much lower clearing points even though their LC phases have more order than the Br^? and BF₄^? mesogens. X-ray diffraction showed that these mesogens have different amounts of tail interdigitation between the smectic layers depending on the counter-ion present. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations indicated that counter-ion size plays an important role in defining the density of the ionic region, which in turn affects the amount of interdigitation in the smectic phases.     

Phase behavior of the orange essential oil/sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate/water system

The ternary phase diagram for the orange essential oil (OEO)/sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/water system was constructed at 25 °C. It indicates a large single phase region, comprising an isotropic water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion (ME) phase (L₂), a liquid crystal (LC) (lamellar or hexagonal) and a large unstable emulsion phase that separates in two phases of normal and reverse micelles (L₁ and L₂). In this communication the properties of the ME are investigated by viscosity, electric conductivity and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicating that the isotropic ME phase exhibits different behaviors depending on composition. At low water content low viscous “dry” surfactant structures are formed, whereas at higher water content higher viscous water droplets are formed. The experimental data allow the determination of the transition from “dry” to the water droplet structures within the L₂ phase. SAXS analyses have also been performed for selected LC samples.     

Preparation of Oriented Liquid‐Crystalline/Isotropic Block Copolymer Films with Parallel or Perpendicular Arrangement of Smectic Layers and Lamellar Microdomains

Films of a symmetric liquid‐crystalline/isotropic block copolymer consisting of a smectic LC side‐chain polymer and polystyrene were prepared by solvent casting from solution and from the isotropic melt. By annealing the solvent‐cast film in the S_A phase an oriented microphase‐separated film of lamellar morphology was obtained in which both the lamellae of the block copolymer and the smectic layers of the LC block were oriented parallel to the film surface. A lamellar morphology with perpendicular orientation of lamellae and smectic layers was generated by cooling the block copolymer from the melt.     

Chiral palisade side-chain liquid crystal copolymers: effect of comonomer end group on the nature of the liquid crystalline

Three series of copolymers were prepared from 4-[2-(S)-methyl-3-acryloxy)-4′-methoxy phenyl] benzoate, as the common chiral monomer, and three nonchiral 4-alkyloxy phenyl-4′-(6-acryloxy hexyloxy) benzoates with alkyloxy tail groups containing seven to nine atoms. All of the copolymers exhibited liquid crystalline (LC) behavior over the entire composition ranges studied. It was demonstrated that by changing the length of the alkyloxy unit, significant differences could be induced in the LC phases observed. When the alkyloxy unit was seven atoms long only chiral nematic (N*) phases were detected, whereas lengthening the alkyloxy unit to eight and nine atoms led to the formation of smectic A (S_A) and chiral smectic C (S*_C ) phases in addition to the N* phase. Films of these materials exhibited selective reflection in the visible region as one would expect from the presence of N* and S*_C phases. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and characterization of liquid crystalline elastomers bearing fluorinated mesogenic units and crosslinking mesogens

Several new side‐chain liquid crystalline (LC) polysiloxanes and elastomers ( IP ‐ VIP ) bearing fluorinated mesogenic units and crosslinking mesogens were synthesized by a one‐step hydrosilylation reaction with poly(methylhydrogeno)siloxane, a fluorine‐containing LC monomer 4′‐undec‐10‐enoyloxy‐biphenyl‐4‐yl 4‐fluoro‐benzoate and a crosslinking LC monomer 4′‐(4‐allyloxy‐benzoxy)‐biphenyl‐4‐yl 4‐allyloxy‐benzoate. The chemical structures and LC properties of the monomers and polymers were characterized by use of various experimental techniques such as FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, EA, TGA, DSC, POM and XRD. The effect of crosslinking mesogens on mesomorphic properties of the fluorinated LC polymers was studied as well. The obtained polymers and elastomers were soluble in many solvents such as toluene, tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and so forth. The temperatures at which 5% weight loss occurred (T_d) were greater than 250°C for all the polymers, and the weight of residue near 600°C increased slightly with increase of the crosslinking mesogens in the fluorinated polymer systems. The samples IP , IIP , IIIP and IVP showed both smectic A and nematic phases when they were heated and cooled, but VP and VIP exhibited only a nematic mesophase. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of polymers increased slightly with increase of crosslinking mesogens in the polymer systems, but the mesophase–isotropic phase transition temperature (T_i) and smectic A–nematic mesophase transition temperature (T_S‐N) decreased slightly. It suggests that the temperature range of the mesophase became narrow with the increase of crosslinking mesogens for all the fluorinated polymers and elastomers. In XRD curves, the intensity of sharp reflections at low angle decreased with increase of crosslinking mesogens in the fluorinated polymers systems, indicating that the smectic order derived from fluorinated mesogenic units should be destroyed by introduction of more crosslinking mesogens. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lamellar Liquid Crystals of Brij 97 Aqueous Solutions Containing Different Additives

Lamellar liquid crystals of Brij 97 aqueous solutions were investigated by means of rheological techniques and SAXS at 25 °C, in the presence of various additives including isopropyl myristate, oleic acid, ionic liquid bmim-PF₆ and bmim-BF₄. The lamellar phases show high elasticity as indicated by their mechanical and discrete relaxation spectra, which is expected to be an advantage when they are used as drug delivery vehicles. It is noted that in comparison with other systems, the lamellar phase formed in the Brij 97/water/IPM system has the lowest storage and loss moduli, implying that it has a weak network strength and less stable internal structure. The Brij 97/water/oleic acid system is the most shear resistance, whereas the Brij 97/water/bmim-PF₆ system exhibits fluid-like viscoelastic properties to some extent. These differences are analyzed through SAXS data for the different location of the additive in the lamellar phase.     

Dielectric relaxation in carbosilane dendrimers with cyanobiphenyl end groups

Carbosilane dendrimers of generation 1 and 2 are functionalized with mesogenic end groups (cyanobiphenyl) via spacers of 5 and 11 carbons. The dielectric relaxation is measured over broad frequency (1 Hz–1 GHz) and temperature (170–470 K) ranges. Two relaxation regimes are observed and characterized as δ and β relaxation. The δ relaxation is nearly a single Debye process and varies strongly with temperature. The S_E to S_A transition observed for the dendrimers with long spacers causes a jump in the relaxation rate of the δ process. The β process displays an Arrhenius-type temperature dependence with an activation energy of 35 kJ/mol. The relaxation time depends on spacer length. The dielectric relaxation reflects the mutual distortion of the dendrimer scaffold and the smectic layers. Received: 9 June 1999 Accepted in revised form: 21 July 1999     

New mesogens with cubic phases: hydrogen-bonded bipyridines and siloxane-containing benzoic acids II. Structural studies

The supramolecular structure of new hydrogen-bonded mesogens composed of dipyridyl and 4-(oligodimethylsiloxyl)alkoxybenzoic acids was investigated by X-ray diffraction and deuterium NMR. These H-bonded mesogens exhibit a cubic thermotropic liquid crystalline phase at a temperature below a smectic A phase. Moreover, above the smectic A phase two optically isotropic, low viscosity phases (I₁ and I₂) exist with the lower temperature I₁ phase comprising aggregated mesogens. Two broad, temperature-independent, wide angle X-ray reflections suggest that the aggregation is driven by nanophase-separation; the aggregate adopts a structure with one domain siloxane rich and the other hydrocarbon rich. In the isotropic melt near the I₁-to-I₂ phase transition, a very weak small angle reflection, indicates incipient lamellar-like clustering of the aggregated mesogens. With decreasing temperature the intensity of the small angle reflection increases and in the smectic A phase, the reflection becomes very sharp. In the cubic phase the small angle reflection splits into two peaks which can be indexed with a face-centred cubic (FCC) structure. The deuterium NMR measurements in the isotropic and smectic A phases are indicative of aggregation and an oriented, lamellarlike structure, respectively. In the cubic phase, the collapse of quadrupolar splittings is consistent with an isotropic average of the quadrupole interaction caused by mesogen translational diffusion through a cubic supramolecular structure.     

Evidence for hydrophobic attraction between latex particles in aqueous systems as investigated by turbidimetry

We report the evidence for attractive interaction of latex particles which are covered by poly(ethylene oxide) chains. These particles are suspended in aqueous solutions of ammonium sulfate. The interaction is probed by measurements of the turbidity of the suspensions up to 70 g/l. Turbidity is insensitive to multiple scattering and allows the static structure factor, S(q) [q=(4πn ₀/λ₀)sin(θ/2), where θ is the scattering angle, n₀ is the refractive index of the medium and λ₀ is the wavelength in vacuo], to be determined at small q values. The analysis of S(q) at small q values yields information about possible attraction of the particles. The analysis of the turbidity data furthermore shows that no aggregation took place in these systems. A weak but long-range attractive interaction was found at ammonium sulfate concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 M. The relation of this attractive force to hydrophobic forces is discussed. Received: 9 March 2000/Accepted: 28 June 2000     

A chiral material with a new phase sequence: twist grain boundary smectic C phase-smectic blue phases

A new phase sequence: twist grain boundary smectic C (TGBC) to smectic blue phases (BP_Sm) is observed in a chiral compound (S)- or (R)-1-methyloctyl 3'-fluoro-4'-(3-fluoro-4-hexadecyloxybenzoyloxy)tolane-4-carboxylate. It is the first time that a TGBC phase has been found to occur under smectic blue phases in the absence of the twist grain boundary smectic A (TGBA) phase. These phases are characterized by polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray scattering.     

Freestanding ferroelectric elastomer films

A ferroelectric crosslinkable liquid crystalline copolysiloxane exhibiting broad chiral smectic C^* and smectic A phases was synthesized and aligned by spin-coating from solution. The homeotropic orientation of the mesogens was checked by polarizing microscopy and X-ray scattering measurements. Crosslinking in the smectic A phase using UV-irradiation stabilizes the spin-coated films mechanically and fixes the monodomain orientation of the smectic A phase. Freestanding Ferroelectric Elastomer Films (FFEF) can be obtained by removing the substrate.     

Influence of the chain length of K-soaps on the phase diagram and structural parameters of nonaqueous liquid crystals and the gel phase in K-soap/glycerol binary systems

 Analogously to the aqueous K-soap/water systems already examined, the five glycerol · (Gl)-containing systems KC _n /Gl (n = 12, 14, 16, 18, 22) also built up hexagonal (H_α), lamellar (L_α), isotropic micellar (S), gel-like (G) and crystalline phases (C). These phases were identified by texture observations with a polarizing microscope, by differential scanning calorimetry measurements and by X-ray diffraction investigations. The appertaining phase regions were plotted in the binary phase diagram. Binary Gl-containing K-soap systems have the following properties. The H_α phase is built up at low soap concentration. The L_α phase is formed at high soap concentrations. The temperature of the phase transition H_α ⇆ S runs through a maximum. Increasing the chain lengths of the soaps shifts the formation of the H_α phase to lower soap concentration. A strong correlation between the chain length of K-soaps and the d values of L_α, H_α, G and C phases is found. Based on the comparison of the X-ray diffractograms of the G phase a structural model is proposed. The G phase consists of two groups of domains with two different dimensions. Received: 9 August 1999/Accepted in revised form: 20 September 1999     

The influence of lateral apolar substituents on the mesomorphic behaviour of tetracatenar liquid crystals

Several series of new tetracatenar mesogens consisting of a five-ring aromatic core and bearing one or more apolar lateral substituents in the central benzene ring of the molecule have been synthesized and their mesomorphism is characterized by polarization microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction methods. Introduction of one, two, or four methyl groups into these tetracatenar mesogens destabilized columnar organization typical of the long-chain homologs, but did not suppress smectic C and nematic phases. Introduction of larger substituents did, however, suppress lamellar organization (C₁₅H₃₁) or mesomorphism (tert-butyl) totally.