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ABSTRACT: A series of liquid crystalline polyrotaxanes containing azobenzene mesogenic moieties (AzoPR) with different length of spacer
were synthesized, and the relationship between the spacer length and the liquid crystalline behavior was investigated. The
molecular characterization of the AzoPR was performed with 1H NMR, FT-IR, and gel permeation chromatography. The thermal stability was investigated via thermogravimetric analysis. Their
phase structures and liquid crystalline properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy
and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The experimental results suggested that AzoPR with spacer length of 2 and 4 failed to show
the liquid crystalline behavior, and AzoPR with spacer length of 6 showed the columnar nematic phase. However, when the spacer
length increases to 11, the columnar nematic phase formed, meanwhile, the liquid crystalline domains with high ordered structure
were developed by azobenzene mesogens.
KeywordsLiquid crystal–Polyrotaxane–Spacer length
Polymer Bulletin 04/2012; 67(6):937-950. · 1.53 Impact Factor
