New liquid-crystalline homo-and copolymers with phenyl benzoate side groups and a chiral center in a flexible spacer

The phase behavior and structure of liquid-crystalline homo-and copolymers based on structurally isomeric units belonging to the family of phenyl benzoates that differ in orientation of an ester link situated between benzene rings have been studied with X-ray diffraction, scanning calorimetry, and polarization optical microscopy. The orientation of this link in the monomer unit affects the temperature of phase transition, the type of the smectic phase, and the packing mode of side mesogenic groups in smectic layers of homopolymers. When monomer units commensurable with the monomer units of the basic component in terms of geometry but not identical to them in terms of smectogenity are randomly incorporated into macromolecules of the LC polymer, the resulting copolymer is characterized by layered packing not typical of either of the components.