ISSN:
1572-9613
Keywords:
Conformations of polymers
;
small-angle neutron scattering
;
liquid crystal structures
;
polymers
;
transitions of liquid crystals
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Abstract A comblike liquid crystal polymer (LPC) is a polymer on which mesogenic molecules have been grafted. It exhibits a succession of liquid crystal phases. Usually the equilibrium conformation of an ordinary polymeric chain corresponds to a maximum entropy, i.e., to an isotropic spherical coil. How does the backbone of a LCP behave in the nematic and smectic field? Small-angle neutron scattering may answer this question. Such measurements are presented here on four different polymers as a function of temperature. An anisotropy of the backbone conformation is found in all these studied compounds, much more pronounced in the smectic phase than in the nematic phase: the backbone spreads more or less perpendicularly to its hanging cores. A comparison with existing theories and a discussion of these results is outlined.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01128173
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