STRUCTURE OF NEMATIC SIDE CHAIN POLYMERS.

Abstract

Systematic investigations of the past years have proved that the structures of the liquid crystalline phases of liquid crystalline (l. c. ) side chain polymers are similar to the structures of conventional low molar mass liquid crystals. Nematic and cholesteric phases as well as S//A and S//C phases have been clearly identified. The systematic realization of l. c. side chain polymers, however, requires a flexible linkage of the rigid mesogenic moieties to the polymer backbone via a flexible spacer. Some new experimental results concerning the l. c. structure of these polymers are presented in this paper.