Deuterium NMR study of mobility and fluctuations in nematic and isotropic elastomers

Abstract

Orientational ordering in polydomain nematic and isotropic elastomers with identical polysiloxane backbone and different deuterium-labeled side groups is studied by D-NMR. In the nematic elastomer the orientational order parameter grows in a critical fashion on crossing the I-N transition implying a continuous phase transition driven by critical fluctuations of local director. The orientational (nematic) ordering occurs on the background of the polymer dynamics exhibited by the backbone, which is similar in the nematic and the analogous isotropic elastomers. The temperature dependence of NMR linewidths is compatible with a Vogel-Fulcher glassy dynamics. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.