Liquid crystalline nature of poly(di-n-hexylsilane)

P. Weber , D. Guillon , A. Skoulios , R.D. Miller

Polarizing optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to study the structure of poly(di-n-hexylsilane) as a function of temperature. Liquid crystalline in nature, the polymer above 42 °C shows hexagonal columnar symmetry, with the columns formed of single polymer chains. The stacking period of the dihexylsilicon repeat units along the columnar axis is of about 1.56 Å. Far from being all-trans as in the low-temperature crystal, the backbone conformation in the high-temperature mesophase is presumably close to an all-gauche helical conformation.

Mots clés: liquid crystal polymers; liquid structure; X ray diffraction examination of liquids

Domaines: Articles anciens

P. Weber, D. Guillon, A. Skoulios, R.D. Miller. Liquid crystalline nature of poly(di-n-hexylsilane). Journal de Physique, 1989, 50 (7), pp.793-801. ⟨10.1051/jphys:01989005007079300⟩. ⟨jpa-00210957⟩