Introduction of unusual properties into polymers by the use of liquid-crystalline moieties

The introduction of mesogenic substituents on polymer backbones facilitates the formation of materials with anisotropic properties. At the same time the polymer chains are connected each other through these substituents in a transient network. The properties of the polymer material, such as the mechanical response or conductivity, are modified by the presence of the liquid-crystalline groups and can be tuned by changing the organisation of the mesogenic groups. Crosslinking the polymer in the liquid-crystalline state induces the manifestation of some memory effect. These phenomena were used for improving the mechanisms of recognition in molecular imprinted materials. (C) 2006 Society of Chemical Industry.