A series of methacrylate-based side-chain liquid crystal polymers has been prepared with a range of molecular weights. For the high molecular weight polymers a smectic phase is observed with a very narrow nematic range; however, for low molecular weight polymers only the nematic phase is observed. A marked reduction in the glass transition temperature, TsN and TNI is observed with a reduction in the molecular weight. The orientational order parameters for these polymers in the liquid crystal phase have been determined using infra-red dichroism. It is found that the higher the molecular weight of the polymer, the greater is the threshold voltage of the electro-optic response and the lower the order parameter. The increase in the threshold voltage with increasing molecular weight may be related to the intrinsic curvature elasticity and hence to the coupling between the mesogenic units and the polymer backbone
Посилання на статтю:
The effect of the molecular weight on the electro-optic properties of methacrylate-based side-chain liquid crystal polymers / K. H. AI-Ammar, M. J. Whitcombe and G. R. Mitchell // Polymer. – 1993. – Vol 34. – P. 2060-2064.
