Supramolecular side chain liquid crystalline polymers assembled via hydrogen bonding between carboxylic acid-containing polysiloxane and azobenzene derivatives

Supramolecular side chain liquid crystalline polymers were prepared from poly(3-carboxypropylmethylsiloxane) (PSI100) and azobenzene derivatives through intermolecular hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) between the carboxylic acid groups in the PSI100 and the imidazole rings in the azobenzene derivatives. The existence of H-bonding has been confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. The polymeric complexes behave as liquid crystalline (LC) polymers and exhibit stable mesophases. The LC behaviour of these H-bonded polymeric complexes was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The complexes exhibit nematic LC phases identified on the basis of Schlieren optical textures. On increasing spacer length or the concentration of the H-bonded mesogenic unit in the complex, the clearing temperature and the temperature range of the LC phase of the polymeric complex increase. The terminal group plays a critical role in determining the LC properties of the polymeric complexes. A terminal methoxy group is more efficient than a nitro group in increasing the clearing temperature. The electron donor-acceptor interactions between the H-bonded mesogenic units containing methoxy and nitro terminal groups in supramolecular 'copolymeric' complexes lead to an increase in the clearing temperature and a wider temperature range for the LC phase.     

Supramolecular main-chain liquid crystalline polymers and networks with competitive hydrogen bonding

A series of supramolecular polymers and networks with variable liquid crystalline characteristics have been created. These species are formed though the benzoic acid/pyridine associations of a flexible bisacid and a mixture of a rigid bispyridyl and a non-mesogenic tetrapyridyl. The networked systems displayed liquid crystalline characteristics up to and including 22.5% netpoint inclusion. Above this concentration, only crystalline and melting behaviours were observed. This observed phenomenon would seem to be linked to the statistical correlation of hydrogen bond acceptors and donors. There was also no observed phase segregation of the species after multiple heat/cool cycles and extended periods of time in the isotropic state. This would indicate that the thermodynamically more stable mesogenic phase cannot out-compete the non-liquid crystalline network. Computational analysis indicates no significant difference in hydrogen bond strength between the two different hydrogen bond acceptors.     

New hydrocarbon side chain liquid crystalline polysiloxane polymers: Synthesis,characterization, and thermotropic behavior

A series of new and high-purity hydrocarbon liquid crystal monomers were synthesized through the acylation reaction, deoxygenation reaction, and Grignard reaction. ¹H-NMR spectra and elemental analyses were used to examine their purity. The liquid crystalline polysiloxane polymers were obtained by grafting the monomers onto poly(methylhydrosiloxane). The thermal transition temperature, mesomorphic properties, and mesophase textures of the monomers and the polymers were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (dsc), polarized optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Moreover, we observed the even–odd effect of the smectic/isotropic transition temperature with the length variation of the substituents. In this study, we found by X-ray diffraction that the liquid crystalline polysiloxane polymers undergo a transition from smectic B to smectic E mesophase. However, dsc has difficulty detecting the phase transition process. By considering the spin–lattice relaxation time (T₁), we can systematically explain the relation between the flexibility of the substituent with the smectic/isotropic transition temperature. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2849–2863, 1998     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of side chain liquid crystalline polymers containing azobenzene push–pull chromophores

Azobenzene monomeric precursors bearing piperazine as donor moiety with different withdrawing groups and derived side chain polymethacrylates have been prepared and characterized. Monomers having terminal cyano or nitro groups, and the corresponding polymers, exhibited smectic A phases. Linear and nonlinear optical properties of every monomer and thin films of the cyano polymer ( pol‐PZ‐CN ) have been also studied. UV‐vis spectroscopy revealed out‐of‐plane orientation in the as prepared films, as confirmed by waveguide refractive index measurements. Moreover, absorption spectra indicated the presence of azo aggregates in these films. The initial molecular arrangement has been modified by applying thermal annealing within the mesophase range and UV‐blue irradiation. Although thermal annealing resulted in a significant amplification of the out‐of‐plane optical anisotropy due to thermotropic self‐organization of side chain azo moieties, irradiation with 440 nm light induced some disruption of aggregates. The nonlinear optical response of Corona poled films has been studied by second harmonic generation measurements, and the influence of the molecular arrangement on the nonlinear d_ij coefficients has been analyzed. The more efficient poling corresponded to preirradiated films. In any case, a noticeable degree of polar order (70% of the initial d₃₃ value) remained for several months after the poling in films kept at RT. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 232–242, 2010     

Synthesis and characterization of halogen-containing ferroelectric liquid crystals and side chain liquid crystalline polymers

A new series of ferroelectric liquid crystals and side chain liquid crystalline polymers based on halogen-containing chiral centres has been synthesized. Chemical structures were analysed by NMR. Liquid crystal phases were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, optical polarizing microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The behaviour of the liquid crystalline phases was investigated as a function of spacer units and differing terminal asymmetric moieties. It was found that phase transition temperatures decreased with increasing length of the oligooxyethylene spacer unit. Differing terminal asymmetric moieties led to differing mesophase phenomena. Furthermore, a wide temperature range (including room temperature) of a chiral smectic C phase was achieved.     

Supramolecular main-chain liquid crystalline polymers and networks with competitive hydrogen bonding: networks and linear polymers created from tris- and bis-functionalised pyridyl networking agents

A series of supramolecular polymers and networks with variable liquid crystalline characteristics have been created. These species are formed through the benzoic acid/pyridine hydrogen bonding of a flexible bis-acid and a mixture of a rigid bis-pyridyl and non-mesogenic tris- and bis-pyridyl molecules. The tris networked systems displayed liquid crystalline characteristics up to and including 31.0% netpoint inclusion. Above this concentration, only crystalline and melting behaviours were observed. The bis-containing polymer system displayed liquid crystalline characteristics up to and including 22.5% inclusion. The phenomenon observed in the tris system would seem to be linked to a statistical correlation of hydrogen bond acceptors and donors. The elimination of liquid crystallinity at lower concentrations of the bis-pyridyl dopant could be attributed to the lower melting nature of that species. Smectic phases were found in both series of complexes in loadings up to 10% of the non-liquid crystalline component. There was also no observed phase segregation of the species after multiple heat/cool cycles and extended periods of time in the isotropic state. This would indicate that the thermodynamically more stable mesogenic phase cannot out-compete the non-liquid crystalline network.     

Synthesis and characterization of 4‐arm star side‐chain liquid crystalline polymers containing azobenzene with different terminal substituents via ATRP

4‐Arm star side‐chain liquid crystalline (LC) polymers containing azobenzene with different terminal substituents were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Tetrafunctional initiator prepared by the esterification between pentaerythritol and 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide was utilized to initiate the polymerization of 6‐[4‐(4‐methoxyphenylazo)phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate (MMAzo) and 6‐[4‐(4‐ethoxyphenylazo)phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate (EMAzo), respectively. The 4‐arm star side‐chain LC polymer with p‐methoxyazobenzene moieties exhibits a smectic and a nematic phase, while that with p‐ethoxyazobenzene moieties shows only a nematic phase, which derives of different terminal substituents. The star polymers have similar LC behavior to the corresponding linear homopolymers, whereas transition temperatures decrease slightly. Both star polymers show photoresponsive isomerization under the irradiation with UV–vis light. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3342–3348, 2007     

A deuteron NMR study of axial motion and side chain conformation in the mesophase of discotic liquid crystal main-chain polymers

Pulsed deuteron NMR spectroscopy has been used to examine the axial motion and the side-chain conformation in both oriented and unoriented mesophases of discotic liquid crystal main-chain polymers based on pentyloxy or heptyloxy substituted triphenylenes. Lineshape simulations show that the rotational motion of the triphenylene rings about the column axes can be described by an inhomogeneous distribution of reorientation angles around 45°. However, only about 60% of the discs are involved in such large amplitude motions; the remaining 40% have reorientation angles below 10°. This illustrates the severe restrictions imposed on the rotation of the discs by the interlinkage of the columns via the alkylene spacers. Furthermore, the simulations demonstrate that, at the -carbon, the side chains show very little fast internal motion, but have a relatively complex conformation involving a disorder which does not change on the microsecond timescale. Since such a disorder is not present in the corresponding monomeric samples it is ascribed to the presence of the spacers. These results are also consistent with the presence of large sterical hindrances between the first side chains segments of adjacent discs, and they indicate a correlated reorientation of the discotic units within a column.     

Side-chain liquid crystalline polymers: The synthesis and characterization of poly[4-nitrothiophenyl-4-(ω-methacryloyl oxyalkyloxy)] benzoate

A new series of sulfur-containing side-chain liquid crystalline polymer is described. Mesomorphic side chains with methylene spacers of different lengths have been synthesized, and their structures were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared and mass spectrometry. The liquid crystalline nature of the polymers was characterized by microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Self-assembled liquid crystals by hydrogen bonding between bipyridyl and alkylbenzoic acids: solvent-free synthesis by mechanochemistry

A series of thermotropic hydrogen-bonded liquid crystalline structures based on 4,4′-bipyridyl and aliphatic carboxylic acids was prepared by a mechanosynthesis technique. This series was characterised by polarising optical microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and ¹H NMR relaxometry experimental techniques. In these complexes, the bipyridyl component, a non-mesogenic substance by itself, acts as a double H-bond acceptor, whereas the alkylbenzoic acid acts as a H-bond donor, in a 1:2 proportion. The so-formed complexes exhibit mesophases that are not observed by the single components. A characteristic phase (smectic A) is identified and shown to be affected by the alkyl chain length. The isotropisation temperature is increased by the supramolecular aggregation through the H-bonds.     

Synthesis of chalcone‐containing methacrylate‐based hydrogen bonded side chain liquid crystalline polymer and its dielectric properties

In this work, a new methacrylate‐based hydrogen bonded side chain liquid crystalline polymer having chalcone moieties (HBCP) was prepared from poly(4‐(3‐(pyridin‐4‐yl)acryloyl) phenyl methacrylate) and 11‐(4‐cyanobiphenyl‐4(‐oxy) undekan‐1‐ol (LC11)) by molecular self‐assembly processes via hydrogen bond formation between nitrogen of the HBCP and hydroxyl group of the LC11. The formation of H bond was confirmed by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The phase transition temperatures and liquid crystalline phases of the HBCP were examined by DSC and POM measurements. The dielectric properties of HBCP have been determined by impedance analyzer within the frequency interval of 100 Hz–15 MHz. According to Cole–Cole plot, the equivalent circuit of the LC system has been found as a capacitor in parallel with a resistor. The resonance frequency, f_r, of the R–C circuit has also been calculated as 1.59 MHz by phase angle versus frequency curve. The dielectric relaxation type of HBCP has been determined as nearly‐Debye type because the absorption coefficient, α, equals to 0.01655. From the conductivity point of view, HBCP displays dc conductivity at the low and high frequency regions that correspond to 100 Hz–12 kHz and 3.3 MHz–15 MHz, respectively. On the other hand, it has been revealed that the ac conductivity of the LC system investigated obeys Super Linear Power Law (SLPL) at the intermediate frequency domain. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supramolecular main-chain liquid crystalline polymers and networks with competitive hydrogen bonding: a study of flexible bis-acids and a mixture of rigid and flexible polypyridyls

A series of novel liquid crystalline supramolecular networks formed through hydrogen bonds have been synthesised. These networks are based on flexible bi-benzoic acid and two types of pyridyl species – a small rigid bipyridyl capable of forming liquid crystalline phases and polyfunctional non-mesogenic pyridyl species that can compete for available hydrogen bond donor molecules. It was found that the networks display monotropic nematic character at high concentrations of disrupting net points – up to 50% for tetrapyridyls, 40% for tripyridyls and 35% for bipyridyls. Weak smectic phases were observed in all systems in loadings up to 10% of each disrupting unit. It is believed that the reversibility of the hydrogen bond allows for the formation of the ordered mesophases in the presence of the non-liquid crystalline groups.     

Synthesis of a side chain liquid crystalline polymer containing the cholesteryl moiety via ROP and “click” chemistry

Propargyl monocholesterylsuccinate (ChPS) was prepared through the esterification of monocholesterylsuccinate with propargyl alcohol, and poly(3-azidomethyl-3-methyloxetane) (PAMMO) was synthesized via cationic polymerization, using boron trifluoride etherate as catalyst and benzyl alcohol as initiator in methylene chloride. Through the copper-catalyzed “click” reaction between the azide group on PAMMO and the alkyne group on ChPS, a side chain liquid crystalline polymer containing the cholesteryl moiety (Ch-SCLCP) was obtained. The “click” reaction was confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and GPC studies. The resulting polymer showed thermotropic mesophase as judged by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

Liquid‐crystalline azobenzene‐containing ferrocene‐based polymers: study on synthesis and properties of main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyesters with azobenzene in the side chain

Ferrocene‐based polymers are characterized by their electrochemical activity, good redox properties, thermal, photochemical stability, and liquid crystallinity, and thus they have various applications in different fields. A comprehensive investigation on the synthesis and properties of three novel main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyesters with azobenzene in the side chain (MFPAS) was carried out. The main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyester, poly(N‐phenyldiethanolamine 1,1′‐ferrocene dicarboxylate (PPFD), was synthesized via the solution polycondensation reaction of 1,1′‐ferrocenedicarbonyl chloride with phenyldiethanolamine (PDE). The novel MFPAS were synthesized via the post‐polymerization azo‐coupling reaction of PPFD with three different 4‐substituted anilines including 4‐nitroaniline, 4‐aminobenzoic acid, and 4‐aminobenzonitrile to produce 4‐nitrophenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐NT), 4‐carboxyphenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐CA), and 4‐cyanophenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐CN), respectively. All the synthesized polymers were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy. In addition, powder X‐ray diffraction patterns were measured for the synthesized polymers. The photoisomerization of the MFPAS was studied. The thermal properties of the MFPAS were studied using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. PPFD‐CA and PPFD‐CN were found to be more thermally stable than PPFD‐NT. Finally, the liquid‐crystalline properties of PPFD and the MFPAS were examined using polarized optical microscope. It was found that all the polymers possessed nematic phases and exhibited textures with schlieren disclinations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New side chain ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers based on (2S, 3S)-2-chloro-3-methylpentanoic acid: synthesis and phase behaviour

The synthesis of four new chiral mesogenic monomers (M₁–M₄) and side chain ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers containing (2S, 3S)-2-chloro-3-methylpentanoate is described. The chemical structures and phase behaviour of the monomers and polymers obtained in this study were characterised by Fourier transform infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The selective reflection of light was investigated with ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis). Their structure–mesomorphism relationships were discussed. M₁ and P₁ all showed a chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase. M₂ and M₃ revealed a SmC* phase and cholesteric phase, while their corresponding polymers P₂ and P₃ revealed a SmC* phase and smectic A (SmA) phase. M₄ only exhibited a cholesteric phase, whereas the corresponding polymers P₄ showed a SmA phase. Moreover, the selective reflection of light shifted to the long-wavelength region at the SmC* phase range and to the short-wavelength region at the cholesteric range with increasing temperature, respectively. The results seemed to demonstrate that the tendency towards melting temperature (T_m), glass transition temperature (T_g), isotropic temperature (T_i) and mesophase range for the monomers and polymers increased by increasing the mesogenic core rigidity or the number of phenyl ring. The polymerisation effect could lead to higher liquid crystalline to isotropic phase transition temperature, wider mesophase range and more ordered smectic phase formed. In addition, all the obtained polymers had a very good thermal stability and the corresponding T_d increased by increasing the number of phenyl ring.