Polymers, liquid crystalline poly type

Many engineering thermoplastics (e.g., polysulfone, polycarbonate, etc.) have limited utility in applications that require exposure to chemical environments. Environmental stress cracking [13] occurs when a stressed polymer is exposed to solvents. Poly(aryl ether phenylquin-oxalines) [27] and poly(aryl ether benzoxazoles) [60] show poor resistance to environmental stress cracking in the presence of acetone, chloroform, etc. This is expected because these structures are amorphous, and there is no crystallinity or liquid crystalline type structure to give solvent resistance. Thus, these materials may have limited utility in processes or applications that require multiple solvent coatings or exposures, whereas acetylene terminated polyaryl ethers [13] exhibit excellent processability, high adhesive properties, and good resistance to hydraulic fluid. 

On the other hand, polyphosphazene 3.79 and its variants are non-crystalline. Then-ionic conductivities at room temperature are 1,000 times or more greater than that of polyethylene oxide).164 166 For battery type applications, 3.79 must be cross-linked lightly to prevent slow liquid-like flow, but this can be accomplished by radiation techniques without lowering the conductivity. An analogous type of polymer, with a poly-siloxane backbone and oligoether side groups, is being studied for similar applications. 

Liquid crystalline compounds are remarkable because of their ability to show spontaneous anisotropy and readily induced orientation in the liquid crystalline state. When polymers are processed in the liquid crystalline state, this anisotropy may be maintained in the solid state and can readily lead to the formation of materials of great strength in the direction of orientation. A particularly important example of the use of this property for polymers is in the formation of fibers from aromatic polyamides which are spun from shear oriented liquid crystalline solutions Solutions of poly(benzyl glutamate) also show characteristics of liquid crystalline mesophases, and both of these types of polymers are examples of the lyotropic solution behaviour of rigid rod polymers which was predicted by Flory... 

The texture of polymeric chiral liquid crystalline phases. The chiral liquid crystalline phases include the chiral smectics and the chiral nematic or cholesteric phase. Poly(7-benzyl-L-glutamate) and derivatives of cellulose are popular examples of polymers that form a chiral mesophase. Side-chain type copolymers of two chiral monomers with flexible spacers of different, lengths and copolymers of one chiral and the other non-chiral mesogenic monomers may also form a cholesteric phase (Finkelmann et al., 1978 1980). In addition, a polymeric nematic phase may be transformed to a cholesteric phase by dissolving in a chiral compound (Fayolle et al., 1979). The first polymer that formed a chiral smectic C phase was reported by Shibaev et al. (1984). It has the sequence of phase transition of g 20-30 Sc 73-75 Sa 83-85 I with the Sc phase at the lower temperature side of Sa- More examples of Sc polymers are given by Le Barny and Dubois (1989). 

The mesogenic structure of a benzoic acid dimer has been introduced as a noncovalent cross-linker for polysiloxanes [79]. Polymer 57 exhibits a smectic C phase due to the dynamics of H-bonding. In contrast, mesomorphic order is locked in the solid state of poly[(4-acryloyl)benzoic acid] by polymerization in its mesophase [128]. No liquid-crystalline state is observed for this material because of the lack of flexibility of the structures. Main-chain-type polymeric liquid-crystal associates are formed from carboxyl-bifunctionalized aromatic compounds [129]. 

Novel organometallic poly(arylene)s with 1,3-type (cyclobutadiene)cobalt moieties 27 in the main chain are prepared by Ni(0)-mediated dehalogenative polycondensation of monomers having (cyclobutadiene)cobalt moieties [51], The polymers with of 20 kDa exhibit thermotropic liquid crystallinity. The synthesis of a variety of homometallic and heterometallic oligomers and polymers such as 28 is possible via nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions of dichlorophenylene-Fe Cp and dihydroxyphenylene-Ru Cp complexes in DMF in the presence of K2CO3 [52]. 

There is a further very important class of main-chain liquid-crystal polymers that differ from those discussed above by being random copolyesters based on polymers such as poly(hydroxybenzoic acid) -fO— —C=0), where — — represents a para-disubstituted benzene ring (para-phenylene unit). The random copolymers include units of various other forms containing phenylene or naphthylene rings and their introduction reduces the crystallinity and melting point considerably without necessarily lowering the value of Polymers of these types have... 

Commonly, polymers with a poly(siloxane) backbone and pendant side chain liquid crystalline groups are used. The side chain liquid crystalline groups are organic complexes with zinc, nickel, or crown ethers. This type of polymers is addressed as mesomorphic poly(siloxane). Side chains based on 4-biphenyl-4-allyloxybenzoate exhibit a special separation performance for racemic compounds. ... 

Sawada, Y. Tomita, I. Rozhanskii, I.L. Endo, T. Synthesis of liquid crystalline organometallic poly(aryl-ene)s containing 1,3-type ((r " -cyclobutadiene)cobalt moieties in the main chain. J. Inorg. Organomet. Polym. 2000. 10 (4). 221-230. 

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