The kinetics of cholesteric phase growth from an isotropic melt of liquid crystalline polymer with mesogenic groups in the main chain

The kinetics of growth of cholesteric phase drops in the phase transition (during cooling) of an isotropic melt of a liquid crystalline polymer containing mesogenic groups in the main chain was studied by polarization optical microscopy. The statistical drop size distribution was described in terms of the equilibrium thermodynamics of irreversible processes. An analysis of the time dependences of the mean diameter of drops revealed the existence of two stationary stages of the kinetics of cholesteric phase growth and allowed these stages to be quantitatively described by the universal law of the growth of clusters.