Orientational behaviour of polymer blends containing a liquid‐crystalline component

Abstract

This paper describes the orientational behaviour of polymer blends containing a side-group liquid-crystalline polymer (LCP). The macroscopic orientation of the LC phase in these blends, and the possibility to freeze in this state are of technical interest. The orientation of LCPcontaining blends through mechanical forces depends on a variety of structural, thermal, energetical and also morphological properties, which are strongly dependent on the kinetical and thermal history. This report describes the optical-and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and interfacial tension studies of the liquid-crystalline polyacrylate 1 a and the poly(methacry1ate) 1 b in poly(methy1 methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycarbonate matrices. 1 a droplets in thermoplastic matrices can be oriented macroscopically during fibre-drawing, but, as a result of higher interfacial tension between the components, 1 b-containing blends can not.

Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymers with Various Alkoxy Side Groups: Thermal Properties and Molecular Dynamics

“…Inclusion of asymmetrically substituted units such as chloro- or methylphenylene units can further depress the melting temperature. Further, the class of aliphatic-aromatic LCPs consists of mesogenic groups sequenced in a regular fashion with flexible, aliphatic segments of different lengths [18,19,20].…”