Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymers With Chiral Smectic C* Mesogens

A new series of side chain liquid crystalline-amorphous diblock copolymers has been successfully synthesized using chiral mesogens. Anionic polymerization techniques have been used to make these monodisperse diblock materials. Preliminary studies suggest that these microphase segregated diblock copolymers exhibit a smectic C* phase. This mesophase exists between and above the glass transition temperatures of the two polymer blocks. Synthesis and characterization of these novel materials are discussed.