Conformation of LCPs as revealed by small-angle scattering methods

7 CONFORMATION OF LCPs AS REVEALED BY SMALL-ANGLE SCATTERING METHODS 

Polymer entropy is antagonistic to nematic (or smectic) order. A flexible polymer is expelled from a nematic solvent, since a chain stretched out to be parallel to a nematic field loses a lot of entropy equally the nematic field, distorting to be locally parallel to a random polymer, would develop a large nematic elastic energy. 

Satisfactory methods for the measurement of the degree of chain extension are still being explored. Reliable data are available for only two nematic MC polymers  

Experimental studies of the magnetic field effects on the SCLCPs 

These results might serve as an experimental corroboration of the prolate conformation predicted by Wang and Warner for the Nn or Nm phase (Fig. 2.36). 

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