Spectroscopy deuterated domain structures

Locally oblate lyotropic elastomers with lamellar phase structure (L -phase) can be oriented by uniaxial compression, as outlined above for thermotropic smectic-A elastomers. Fischer et al. synthesized crosslinked polysiloxane elastomers carrying non-ionic amphiphilic side-groups attached with their hydrophobic end to the polymer backbone. They were able to compress elastomer samples between Teflon half-cylinders to about half of their original thickness. The orientation of the phase structure - except for some unoriented domains - was demonstrated by means of H-NMR spectroscopy on the directly deuterated samples as well as by X-ray scattering. The preferred orientation of the director, and hence the amphiphilic side chains, was found to be parallel to the axis of compression with the amphiphilic bilayers aligned perpendicularly [98, 99]. 

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