The effect of a compatible liquid crystal polymer on homogeneous reinforcement of mesogenic and nonmesogenic rigid-rod monomers

Abstract

Discrete amount of main-chain Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP) could mechanically reinforce the mesophase of rigid-rod monomers to form a supramolecular homogeneous composite for Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) materials. Moreover, a homogeneously dispersed LCP may induce an enantiotropic transition in monotropic or non-mesogenic rigid-rod compounds. In this work, we studied the blends of a flexible main-chain nematic LCP with an enantiotropic nematic, a monotropic nematic, and two non-mesogenic rigid-rod compounds as model systems. The results indicate that homogenous reinforcement of thermotropic LCP in these monomers is a valid concept and could lead to improvement of mesogenic stability, orienational and mechanical properties of rigid-rod materials for various applications.