Journal
CELLULOSE
Volume 17, Issue 3, Pages 547-558Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10570-009-9392-z
Keywords
DCC coupling; Liquid-crystalline cellulose derivatives; Main-chain/side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer; Phase behavior; Supramolecular structures
Funding
- National Nature Science Foundation of China [20874082]
- Hunan Provincial Education Department [06A068]
- Chinese Ministry of Education for Science and Technology [207075]
- New Century Excellent Talents in University [NCET-05-0707]
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A novel combined main-chain/side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer based on an ethyl cellulose main chain containing azobenzene mesogens (AzoEC) was successfully synthesized. Molecular characterization of the resulting polymers with different degrees of substitution (DS) was performed with proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Thermal stability was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The phase transitions and liquid-crystalline behavior of these polymers were investigated by differential-scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The results indicate that DS has substantial effect on the liquid-crystalline behavior of these polymers. AzoEC with low DS only shows the cholesteric phase similar to ethyl cellulose (EC). However, when DS increases to a specific value, AzoEC begins to show fascinating supramolecular structures. The supramolecular structure of AzoEC with maximum DS consisted of a large-scale ordered lamellar structure formed by EC main chains and a small-scale ordered structure formed by azobenzene mesogens.
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