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Abstract
Two monomers containing two phenylene rings, two linking units, andone phenyl group have been synthesized. The linking units were ester and azo functionalities for one of the monomers, and ester and olefinic for the other. Phase transitions, range of mesophase stabilities, textures, enthalpy, and/or entropy changes of the two mesogens are compared for the monomeric and polymeric forms. Thermal transitions observed by differential scanning calorimetry were fonfirmed by optical microscopy. The results reveal that while there are markedly different structural effects in the monomers, such effects are considerably diminished in the polymers. However, the polymers had substantially different textures as confirmed by a solutions-cast miscibility study. The data illustrate that mesogenic systems containing three phenyl rings and two linking units as opposed to two phenyl rings and one linking unit to allow one to better assess molecular structural effects on mesophase behavior.