Liquid crystalline polymers LCPs nematic crystals

The big difference between normal isotropic liquids and nematic liquids is the effect of anisotropy on the viscous and elastic properties of the material. Liquid crystals of low molecular weight can be Newtonian anisotropic fluids, whereas liquid crystalline polymers can be rate and strain dependent anisotropic non-Newtonian fluids. The anisotropy gives rise to 5 viscosities and 3 elastic constants. In addition, the effective flow properties are determined by the flow dependent and history dependent texture. This all makes the rheology of LCPs extremely complicated. 

Interference and angle-dependent color effects can also be achieved by layers or particles based on liquid crystal polymers (LCP) Such effects can, for example, be produced by small plate-like substances which consist of an LCP material itself, or by small platelets which are uniformly coated with a cross-linked liquid crystalline polymer in a chiral-nematic arrangement. ... 

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The first liquid crystal polymers (LCPs), in which structural moieties known to lead to mesomorphic behavior in small-molecule liquid crystals have been incorporated into the main chain, were reported in early 1980s. The presence of the mesogenic units in the polymer chain enhances the tendency for the material to form the liquid crystalline state, and these polymers also show better thermal stability. Both the nematic and smectic phases can be observed in these materials, (see Fig. 4.12). 

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