Liquid Crystal Polymers LCPs

A very high, price and performance family of polymers called liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) exhibit extremely high mechanical and thermal properties. As their ease of processing and price improve, they may find appHcation in thin-waH, high strength parts such as nails, bolts, and fasteners where metal parts cannot be used for reasons of conductivity, electromagnetic characteristics, or corrosion. 

Liquid crystal polymers (LCP) are a recent arrival on the plastics materials scene. They have outstanding dimensional stability, high strength, stiffness, toughness and chemical resistance all combined with ease of processing. LCPs are based on thermoplastic aromatic polyesters and they have a highly ordered structure even in the molten state. When these materials are subjected to stress the molecular chains slide over one another but the ordered structure is retained. It is the retention of the highly crystalline structure which imparts the exceptional properties to LCPs. 

High-temperature TPs are available to compete with TSs, metals, ceramics, and other nonplastic materials. The heat-resistant TPs include polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyethersulfone (PES), polyamideimide, liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and others. 

Liquid crystal polymer (LCP) Excellent Commercial LCPs excellent natural LCPs not stable. 

Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs), 10 374, 517-518 13 370-372. See also Liquid-crystal polyesters (LCPs) Liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs) thermotropic, 13 381-382 Liquid-crystalline thermotropic polyesters, 20 34... 

Thermoplastic polyesters, 20 31-95. See also Liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs) blow-molded bottles, 20 45-47 bottles for demanding contents, 20 52-53... 

The class of polyester-based liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) represent one of the most attractive materials in the field of engineering thermoplastics because of their superior mechanical properties, heat resistance, accuracy of dimensions, moldability and the excellent balance of these properties [1-5]. LCPs have been recently expanding their applications, in particular, those for precision electronic parts appropriate for surface mount technology (SMT). 

Speciality thermoplastics polysulfone (PSU), PPS, fluoroplastics, PEEK, PEI, polyamide imide (PAI), liquid crystal polymers (LCP). 

Liquid crystal polymers (LCP) are polymers that exhibit liquid crystal characteristics either in solution (lyotropic liquid crystal) or in the melt (thermotropic liquid crystal) [Ballauf, 1989 Finkelmann, 1987 Morgan et al., 1987]. We need to define the liquid crystal state before proceeding. Crystalline solids have three-dimensional, long-range ordering of molecules. The molecules are said to be ordered or oriented with respect to their centers of mass and their molecular axes. The physical properties (e.g., refractive index, electrical conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion) of a wide variety of crystalline substances vary in different directions. Such substances are referred to as anisotropic substances. Substances that have the same properties in all directions are referred to as isotropic substances. For example, liquids that possess no long-range molecular order in any dimension are described as isotropic. 

Multicomponent Systems Containing Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs) 320... 

Some of the common types of plastics that are used are thermoplastics, such as poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) (see POLYMERS CONTAINING SULFUR), nylons, liquid crystal polymer (LCP), the polyesters (qv) such as polyesters that are 30% glass-fiber reinforced, and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and polyetherimide (PEI) and thermosets such as diallyl phthalate and phenolic resins (qv). Because of the wide variety of manufacturing processes and usage requirements, these materials are available in several variations which have a range of physical properties. 

Two types of liquid crystal polymers (LCP s) can be distinguished lyotropic and thermotropic. The first type is formed in a solution this is done when the polymer has such a high melting point (low AS, see 4.2), that it cannot be handled in the molten condition without being degraded. If this limitation is not present, then the orientation can be brought about in the melt in such a case we have a thermotropic LCP. 

A special category is formed by oriented polymers, which have considerably higher stiffnesses. The most obvious example is the textile fibre the orientation, frozen-in in a crystalline structure, raises E by a factor of 3 to 5. Extremely high orientations, as met in liquid-crystal polymers (LCP s) result in even higher E-values, namely 60 to 120 GPa ... 

For polymers which, on heating, yield Mesophases (liquid crystal melts), the so-called mesogenic polymers or liquid crystal polymers (LCPs), the situation of phase transitions is much more complex. In this case the simple Volume-Temperature diagram, given in Fig. 4.2 is not valid anymore and has to be substituted by a more complicated one, which is shown in Fig. 6.12. 

Most polymers fall in the class of translucent resins. These include acetal, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene, and polypropylene as examples. There are very few neat polymers that are truly opaque (this depends on thickness as well). Liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is an example of a typically opaque polymer. It is theorized that these semicrystalline and crystalline resins will scatter some portion of incident light due to spherulitic crystal structure and the amorphous-crystalline region interfaces themselves. 

Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) have been a source of considerable interest for some time, as they have been shown to offer particular advantages in terms of their processability and physical properties which make them attractive in a wide range of engineering applications.346 Serrano and his colleagues have reviewed metallomesogenic polymers, including the liquid crystalline properties of several of the platinum poly-yndiyl polymers described above.85,86... 

This analysis reveals that measurement of shrinkage or linear coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE s) in just flow and width directions, as is done for conventional polymers, is not sufficient for liquid crystal polymers (LCP s) and can lead to erroneous shrinkage predictions. This is a consequence of inherent LCP anisotropy, resulting in a relatively large linear CTE and shrinkage in the thickness direction of associated molded LCP parts. Linear and volumetric CTE data for neat and filled LCP molded parts of different geometries are presented. 

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