Liquid crystalline polymers with bent-core mesogens

POLY 146

Xiaofang Chen, chenxiaofang@pku.edu.cn1, Kishore K. Tenneti, kkt24@drexel.edu2, Christopher Y. Li, cyl24@drexel.edu2, and Qi-Feng Zhou, qfzhou@pku.edu.cn1. (1) College of Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China, (2) A. J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 chestnut st, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Bent-core liquid crystal (BCLC) has become a major topic of actual liquid crystal research when its (anti)ferroelectric property was first reported in 1996. Furthermore, various banana phases were extensively investigated. Layer chirality, splay modulation and TGB-like helical organization were proposed to explain the spontanous polarization and supramolecular chiral structures. It is of interest to introduce BCLC units to polymer systems due to their potential self-organization capability which may induce non-conventional supramolecular structures to the polymer systems with multiple length scale range. We designed a series of side-chain liquid crystal polymers utilizing bent-core mesogenic units as side chains. Their mesomorphic properties were investigated by a combination of DSC, POM, TEM and XRD. The resulting polymers were thermally stable and could enter LC phases at corresponding temperatures above Tg. Using WAXD and SAXD fiber patterns, high ordered smectic C phase with bilayer structures could be identified.
 

General Papers: Synthesis and Characterization
6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Sunday, 10 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Hall D, Poster

Division of Polymer Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006