Liquid crystals rigidity

Zannoni C 1985 An internal order parameter formalism for non-rigid molecules Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Liquid Crystals ed J W Emsiey (Dordrecht Reidel)... 

Yet another recent development has been the alloying of polycarbonates with liquid crystal polymers such as Vectra (see Section 25.8.1). These alloys are notable for their very good flow properties and higher strength and rigidity than conventional bisphenol A polycarbonates. 

Over the years polymers have been produced suitable for use at progressively higher temperatures. Where this is a requirement, it is usual first to decide whether a rubbery or a rigid material is required. If the former, this has been dealt with by the author elsewhere." If the latter, it is usually convenient to look in turn at polycarbonates, PPO-based materials, polyphenylene sulphides, polysul-phones, polyketones such as PEEK and PEK, polyamide-imides, poly-phthalamides, fluoropolymers, liquid crystal polymers and polyimides. 

The rigid nature of the mesophase pitch molecules creates a strong relationship between flow and orientation. In this regard, mesophase pitch may be considered to be a discotic nematic liquid crystal. The flow behavior of liquid crystals of the nematic type has been described by a continuum theory proposed by Leslie [36] and Ericksen [37]. 

The raw materials from which di-D-fructose dianhydrides can be obtained in appreciable yield are readily available from comparatively inexpensive agricultural feedstocks. Thus, these compounds are attractive as chiral-starting materials for chemical synthesis. Their stability to acid and heat, and their relative rigidity, because of the conformational constraints covered here, are also features that might be exploited during syntheses.119 A series of variously substituted di-D-fructose dianhydrides has been prepared,119 starting from 6,6 -dideoxy-6,6 -di-halosucroses. The properties of these and other derivatives of di-D-fructose dianhydrides are summarized in Tables XIV-XX. Two of these derivatives, 48 and 56, exhibit thermotropic liquid-crystal properties.119... 

The data presented in Figure 8 graphically illustrate the tremendous and rapid growth in interest in FOSS chemistry, especially for patented applications. This looks set to continue with current applications in areas as diverse as dendrimers, composite materials, polymers, optical materials, liquid crystal materials, atom scavengers, and cosmetics, and, no doubt, many new areas to come. These many applications derive from the symmetrical nature of the FOSS cores which comprise relatively rigid, near-tetrahedral vertices connected by more flexible siloxane bonds. The compounds are usually thermally and chemically stable and can be modified by conventional synthetic methods and are amenable to the usual characterization techniques. The recent commercial availability of a wide range of simple monomers on a multigram scale will help to advance research in the area more rapidly. 

In order to make polymers behave as liquid crystals it is necessary to introduce some structural rigidity. A typical polymer which has the required rigidity is poly(phenylenetetraphthalamide) (10.7). This material belongs to a class of polymer known as the aramids. Other liquid crystalline polymers are the thermotropic polyesters derived from /7-hydroxybenzoic acid, p, p -biphenol and terephthalic acid (10.8). 

Fig. 2. The generic molecular structure of calamitic liquid crystals illustrating the semi-rigid core fragments, the positions of the end-groups (C and A), linking groups (B) and, possibly, laterally substituted groups (L)...

Although liquid crystalline phases can be formed from entirely rigid units such as rods and ellipsoids, all liquid crystal molecules are partially flexible objects which can change their shape in a variety of ways. The extension of rigid-rod theories to account for flexibility is complex and has been the object of considerable effort for several years. It is now clear that simply relaxing the assumption of molecular rigidity is expected to have profound effects on phase behaviour. 

Liquid crystal behavior is a genuine supramolecular phenomenon based on the existence of extended weak interactions (dipole-dipole, dispersion forces, hydrogen bonding) between molecules. For the former two to be important enough, it is usually necessary for the molecules to have anisotropic shapes, able to pack efficiently so that these weak interactions can accumulate and co-operate, so as to keep the molecules associated in a preferred orientation, but free enough to move and slide, as they are not connected by rigid bonds. 

Reinitzer discovered liquid crystallinity in 1888 the so-called fourth state of matter.4 Liquid crystalline molecules combine the properties of mobility of liquids and orientational order of crystals. This phenomenon results from the anisotropy in the molecules from which the liquid crystals are built. Different factors may govern this anisotropy, for example, the presence of polar and apolar parts in the molecule, the fact that it contains flexible and rigid parts, or often a combination of both. Liquid crystals may be thermotropic, being a state of matter in between the solid and the liquid phase, or they may be lyotropic, that is, ordering induced by the solvent. In the latter case the solvent usually solvates a certain part of the molecule while the other part of the molecule helps induce aggregation, leading to mesoscopic assemblies. The first thermotropic mesophase discovered was a chiral nematic or cholesteric phase (N )4 named after the fact that it was observed in a cholesterol derivative. In hindsight, one can conclude that this was not the simplest mesophase possible. In fact, this mesophase is chiral, since the molecules are ordered in... 

Imidazo[2,l-/][[l,3,4]thiadiazoles 161 (Figure 33), containing practically planar and rigid heteroaromatic systems with two condensed heterocycles, which have different Tt-conjugation, have been identified as useful fragments for liquid crystal molecules <2002MI6>. 

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