Liquid crystalline polymers specimen

These different contrast mechanisms can all be used to reveal the scale of liquid crystalline polymer microstructures. In specimens that exhibit a mosaic texture, and in those that contain predominantly planar defects, domain size is easily defined in terms of areas that uniformly show extinction between crossed polars. However, if the defects are predominantly linear, as in specimens that exhibit schlieren textures, such simple characterization of microstructural scale is no longer possible. Here it is more convenient to look at the length of disclination line per unit volume, which is equivalent to the number of lines intersecting unit area, and analogous to the dislocation density as defined for crystalline solids. Good contrast is essential in order to obtain an accurate count. Technologically, microstructural scale is of growing interest because of its relevance to processability, mechanical properties and optical transparency. 

The morphology of the fracture surfaces of both the extruded and injection-molded specimens was studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Although there were many morphologies across the fracture surfaces, highly elongated liquid crystalline polymer domains parallel to the flow direction were observed for both the extruded and molded specimens. 

What we have attempted to do here is to present rheological tests for identifying the development and relaxation of orientation and structure in liquid crystalline polymers. Because these fluids are typically quite turbid, it is difficult to use rheo-optical techniques. The interpretation of the rheological tests must then come partly from studies on quenched solid specimens. In summary, it is believed that a detailed set of rheological tests based on the transient response of LCP can be used to evaluate various liquid crystalline polymers and identify processing conditions which will lead to the optimum physical properties. 

If the scattered beam is a sharp spot diffracted from a single crystal, the phase contrast image when it is recombined is an image of the crystal lattice. This specialized phase contrast technique is applied to the study of atomic scale structure in crystalline specimens of metals and ceramics. It has only rarely been applied to the study of polymer materials due primarily to their instability in the electron beam. Lattice images have been obtained from radiation stable aromatic molecules, such as the liquid crystalline polymers (Section 5.6). They have shown important information regarding the ordered structure. 

These thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymers have high melting points but can be melt processed like other thermoplastics. The macroscopic orientation of the extended-chain crystals depends on the orientation imparted by flow during processing (molding, extrusion, etc.). Because of the fibrous nature of the extended-chain crystals, these plastics behave as self-reinforced composites, with excellent mechanical properties, at least in the chain direction This is illustrated in Table 5.3 for molded specimens of a liquid-crystalline copolyester of ethylene glycol, terephthaUc acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic add. In the direction parallel to flow, the properties listed in Table 5.3 compare favorably with... 

Thus, the influential factors in obtaining high moduli for injection molded specimens are as follows (1) the stability of the liquid crystalline state, (2) the rigidity of the polymer chain, and (3) the packing density of the polymer chain. 

Determination of the proportions of crystalline and amorphous material in partially crystalline polymers. Knowledge of the unit cell dimensions in high polymer crystals leads to a knowledge of the density of the crystalline regions. If the density of amorphous regions is also known, either by measurement of the density of an entirely amorphous specimen (if this can be obtained) or by extrapolation of the liquid density/temperature curve, it is possible to calculate, from the measured density of any partially crystalline specimen, the proportions of crystalline and amorphous material. Since the physical properties of polymer specimens are profoundly influenced by the degree of crystallinity, X-ray determinations of crystallinity are much used in such studies (see Bunn, 1957). 

Jackson and Kuhfuss reported a thermotropic polymers system comprised of polyethylene terephthalate) modified with HBA (4). They demonstrated not only the thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior but also the excellent melt processability of these materials to yield specimens with high modulus values. However these copolymers had very low use temperatures as reflected by low heat deflection temperatures. 

---