Synthesis and characterization of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic ester mesogen and a nonmesogenic ferrocene unit in the spacer

Abstract

AbstractA new series of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic triad ester mesogen and 1,1′‐disubstituted ferrocene as a nonmesogenic unit along with polymethylene spacer was synthesized. The polymer was synthesized by a room temperature polycondensation reaction between bis(4‐chloroformyl phenyloxy alkyl ferrocene dicarboxylate) and quinol. The alkyl groups have been varied by an even number of methylene groups with a range from two to ten groups. All the polymers were found to possess liquid crystalline properties. The identification of the mesophase is more transparent with an increase in the spacer. The thermal characteristics were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results reveal that the thermal stability of the polymers was decreased with increasing spacer length. The Tg, Tm, and Ti of the polymers decreased with increasing methylene groups. The incorporation of the ferrocene moiety also has a considerable effect on the glass transition temperature. The char yield of the polymer decreases with an increasing methylene chain length. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3494–3501, 2002