Mesophase structure and alignment under different fields of liquid crystalline main-chain/side-group block copolymers

Liquid crystalline block copolymers are new materials in which multiple molecular interactions can provide the driving force for complex phase behaviors and states of order. Block copolymers containing both liquid crystalline main-chain polyester and side-group polymethacrylate blocks were investigated. They phase separated in the liquid crystalline state and their individual mesophases coexisted. The copolymers responded very differently when either a mechanical or a magnetic field was used for alignment. In the fibers the orientations of the side-group and main-chain smectic planes with respect to the fiber axis depended critically on the block lengths and on their distinct tendencies to align, whereas under a magnetic field the mesogens aligned collectively with their long molecular axis parallel to the field, independent of the copolymer structure.