• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2010

The thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior of the homologous series of combined-type liquid crystalline polymers, tri-O-{4-(4'-cyanophenylazo)phenoxy}alkyl celluloses (CACETn, where n, the number of methylene units in the spacer, is 2~10) have been investigated. The CACETn with n of 5 and 7 exhibited enantiotropic nematic phases, while other polymers showed monotropic nematic phases. The isotropic-nematic transition temperature($T_{iN}$) increased when n is increased up to 4, but it decreased with increasing n more than 5. The entropy change at $T_{iN}$ also reaches a minimum at n=5, before it increases again for n=6. The sharp change at n=5 may be attributed to the difference in arrangement in the side groups. The nematic-crystalline transition temperatures, in contrast with $T_{iNS}$, exhibited a distinct odd-even effect, suggesting that the average shape of the side chains in the crystalline phase is different from that in the nematic phase. The mesophase properties of CACETn were significantly different from those reported for tri-O-alkyl celluloses and poly[1-{4-(4'-cyanophenylazo)phenoxyalkyloxy}ethylene]s. The results were discussed in terms of the difference in the chemical structures of the main and side chains and the number of the mesogenic units per repeating unit.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.132-132
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• 2006

Filler loading (fiber or particulate) usually increases the melt viscosity of polymers. In contrast, the addition of these fillers and fibrillation of thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) jointly decreased the viscosity of polymer melts to lower than those of pure component polymers, filler-loaded or LCP-blended ones; and even decreased the viscosity with increasing filler loading. Termed as rheological hybrid effect, this phenomenon correlated well with the LCP fibrillation in these ternary systems. Research taking fillers of various shapes and sizes showed that the filler addition promoted the LCP fibrillation, depending upon thermodynamic and dynamic factors involved.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2005

Novel polyurethanes containing no mesogenic unit were synthesized by the polyaddition reaction of para-type diisocyanates such as 2,5-tolylene diisocyanate (2,5-TDI) or 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate (1,4-PDI) with 2,6-bis(${\omega}$-hydroxyalkoxy)naphthalene (BHNm; m= 5, 6, 8, 11). Intrinsic viscosities of the polymers were in the range of 0.28-0.43 dL/g. The thermal properties of these polymers were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing microscopy. Polyurethanes prepared from BHNm and 2,5-TDI haying methyl substituent on the phenylene unit exhibited monotropic liquid crystallinity. However, in the series of polyurethanes prepared from 1,4-PDI and BHNm, no explicit mesomorphic behavior was observed by differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing microscopy.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.157-165
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• 1997

The transesterification reaction could be used to the technical production as it forms an in-situ compatibilizer during the processing of polymer blends. Thus, TR-4,6(poly(tetramethylene-4,4'-terephthaloyldioxydibenzoate-co-hexametylene-4,4'-terephthaloyldioxydibenzoate), one of thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers was synthesized and was blended with PBT(polybutylene terephthalate), one of engineering plastics, to study the transesterification reaction. The transesterification reactions between two components, TR-4,6 and PBT, were monitored by IR, DSC and $^{13}C-NMR$ and analyzed by a statistical treatment method. Also, the reaction rates and the sequence distributions of repeating unit were (calculated and) invesitigated.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.358-366
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• 2011

A homologous series of linear liquid crystal dimers, the ${\alpha},{\omega}$-bis(4-cyano-azobenzene-4'-oxy)alkanes (CATWETn, where n, the number of methylene units in the spacer, is 2~10) were synthesized, and their thermotropic liquid crystalline phase behavior were investigated. The CATWETn with n of 3 and 6 exhibited monotropic nematic phases, whereas other derivatives showed enantiotropic nematic phases. The nematic-isotropic transition temperatures of the dimers and their entropy variation at the phase transition showed a large odd-even effect as a function of n. This phase transition behavior was rationalized in terms of the change in the average shape of the spacer on varying the parity of the spacer. The thermal stability and degree of order in the nematic phase and the magnitude of the odd-even effect of CATWETn were similar to those for the methoxy-, nitro-, and pentyl-substituted dimers, while they were significantly different from those for the monomesogenic compounds, 1-{4-(4'-cyanophenylazo)phenoxy}alkylbromides and the side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers, the poly[1-{4-(4'-cyanophenylazo)phenoxyalkyloxy}ethylene]s. The results were discussed in terms of 'virtual trimer model' by Imrie.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.338-349
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• 2006

Fully or nearly fully(8-cholesteryloxycarbonyl)heptanoated polysaccharide derivatives were synthesized by reacting cellulose, amylose, chitosan, chitin, alginic acid, pullulan or amylopectin with (8-cholesteryloxycarbonyl)heptanoyl chloride (CH8C), and their thermotropic liquid crystalline behaviors were investigated. Like in the case of CH8C, all the polysaccharide derivatives formed monotropic cholesteric phases with left-handed helicoidal structures whose optical pitches $({\lambda_m}'s)$ decrease with increasing temperature. Amylopectin derivative also formed a monotropic cholesteric phase with lefthanded helicoidal structures but, in contrast with the other derivatives, did not display reflection colors over the full cholesteric range, suggesting that the helicoidal twisting power of the cholesteryl group highly depends on the branched structure in amylopectin. The thermal stability and degree of order in the mesophase, the magnitude of ${\lambda}_m$ at the same temperature, and the temperature dependence of the ${\lambda}_m$ observed for polysaccharide derivatives were entirely different from those reported for the polymers in which the cholesteryl groups are attached to flexible or semiflexible backbones through flexible spacers. The results were discussed in terms of the difference in the chemical structures of the main and side chains and flexibility of the main chain.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.58-66
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• 2009

The thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior of the homologous series of cellulose tri[4-{4'-(nitrophenylazo) phenoxycarbonyl}] alkanoates (NACEn, n=2$\sim$8, 10, the number of methylene units in the spacer) have been investigated. All of the homologoues formed monotropic nematic phases. The isotropic-nematic transition temperature ($T_{iN}$) decreased when n is increased up to 7, but it became almost constant when n is more than 7. The plot of transition entropy at $T_{iN}$ against n had a sharp negative inflection at n=7. The sharp change at n=7 may be attributed to the difference in arrangement of the side groups. The melting temperature ($T_m$) and associated entropy change at $T_m$, in contrast with $T_{iN}$ and associated entropy change at $T_{iN}$, exhibited a distinct odd-even effect, suggesting that the average shape of the side chains in the crystalline phase is different from that in the nematic phase. The thermal stability and degree of order of the nematic phase observed for NACEn were significantly different from those reported for the homologous series of side-chain and combined type liquid crystal polymers bearing azobenzene or biphenyl units in the side chains. The results were discussed in terms of the differences in the chemical structure, the flexibility of the main chain, the mode of chemical linkage of the side group with the main chain, and the number of the mesogenic units per repeating unit.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.489-496
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• 2008

The thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior of a homologous series of poly[1-{4-(4' nitrophenylazo) phenoxycarbonylalkanoyloxy}ethylene]s (NAPEn, n = $2{\sim}8$,10, the number of methylene units in the spacer) have been investigated. All of the homologues formed monotropic nematic phases. The glass transition temperatures decreased with n. This is attributed to a plasticization of the backbone by the side chains. The isotropic-nematic phase transition temperatures decreased with increasing n up to 7 and showed the odd-even effect. However it became almost constant when n is more than 7. This behavior was rationalized in terms of the change in the average shape of the side chain on varing the parity of the spacer. This rationalization also accounts for the observed variation of the entropic gain for the clearing transition. The mesophase properties of NAPEn were entirely different from those reported for the polymers in which the azobenzene groups are attached to polyacrylate, polymathacrylate, and polystyrene backbones through polymethylene spacers. The results indicate that the mode of chemical linkage of the side group with the main chain plays an important role in the formation, stabilization, and type of mesophase.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.230-237
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• 2010

A homologous series of linear liquid crystal dimers, ${\alpha},{\omega}$-bis(4-nitroazobenzene-4'-carbonyloxy)alkanes (NATWESn, n = 2~8, 10, the number of methylene units in the spacer) have been synthesized, and the thermal behavior of the series has been investigated. All the dimers formed enantiotropic nematic phases. The nematic-isotropic transition temperatures of the dimers and their entropy variation at the phase transition showed a large odd-even effect as a function of n. This behavior was rationalized in terms of the change in the average shape of the spacer on varing the parity of the spacer. The thermal stability and degree of order in the nematic phase and the magnitude of the odd-even effect of NATWESn were very similar to those of the corresponding ether compounds, while they were significantly different from those of the monomesogenic compounds, 4-{4'-(nitrophenylazo)phenoxy}alkanoyl chlorides and the side-chain liquid-crystalline polymers, the poly[1-{4-(4'-nitrophenylazo) phenoxycarbonylalkanoyloxy}ethylene]s. The results were discussed in terms of the 'irtual trimer model'by Imrie.