Thermotropic liquid crystals mechanical alignment

As noted above, if polymer chains can be aligned in the melt prior to crystallization, high degrees of extended-chain crystallinity may be formed, imparting remarkable mechanical properties, at least in the chain direction. Another way of doing it is by starting with molecules that show a degree of order in the liquid phase. Such liquid-crystalline materials have been known for years, but until fairly recently were limited to relatively small molecules. Now, however, several types of polymers are known which exhibit liquid-crystalline order, either lyotropic (order in solution) or thermotropic (order in the melt). ... 

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