| Abstract: | Some new mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymers (MJLCP) with polymer backbones, spacers, andmesogenic units of different structures were synthesized by radical polymerization. The mesomorphic behavior of thesepolymers was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). Theirliquid crystallinity is influenced by the variation of polymer backbone, spacer, mesogenic unit and its terminal groups. Theresults show that 1) a more flexible polymer main-chain is more favorable to the formation of a liquid crystal phase, while 2)a flexible spacer will decrease the "Jacket Effect" and the liquid crystallinity and 3) a subtle modification of the terminalgroups on the mesogenic unit may also have a significant influence on properties of the polymers. |
