Conformation and optical anisotropy of comb-like macromolecules with mesogenic side groups

Abstract

The methods of flow birefringence and viscometry have been used to make a comparative study of the conformational properties of two comb-like polymers differing in the character of attachment of the mesogenic grouping. It is shown experimentally that the distancing of the mesogenic grouping from the main chain is accompanied by sharp fall in the optical anisotropy of the molecule and the intramolecular orientation order as compared with the anisotropy and degree of orderliness of the polymer molecules in which the mesogenic group is attached directly to the main chain.