Synthesis of Mesogen Jacketed Polymers with a Terphenyl Core and the Effect of Terminal Groups on the Liquid Crystalline Phases

Two kinds of mesogen jacketed liquid crystalline polymers (MJLCPs) based on vinyl terphenyls have been designed and synthesized via radical polymerization. The effects of the length of the terminal groups on the liquid crystal phase was investigated with differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermo gravimetry analysis (TGA), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS). The results of small angle X-ray scattering and polarized optical microscope have shown that the polymer PVTP-CN can form a smectic phase because of the jacketing effect. However, for polymers (PVTP-Cm), in the case of short alkyl chains, the " jacketing” effect is weakened, no liquid crystalline phase is found when (m = 4,6), while the polymer PVTP-C10 with a longer chain length (m = 10) can form a liquid crystal phase because of microphase separation.