Hybrid liquid-crystalline block copolymers I. Synthesis and mesomorphic behavior of polyester–polymethacrylate block copolymers

A new type of block copolymers comprising both main-chain and side-chain liquid-crystalline (LC) blocks in the same macromolecular structure was synthesized and studied. The former was a semiflexible LC polyester block, and the latter was an LC polymethacrylate block. Thermal, dynamic-mechanical, and X-ray diffraction data indicated that the two structurally different blocks were partly phase-separated in the glassy and LC states. Significant deviations of the transition temperatures and enthalpies were observed relative to those of the corresponding homopolymers.