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Abstract
Two categories of liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) should be distinguished. On the one hand we have side-chain LCPs, where the mesogenic groups are attached to a polymer backbone, and on the other hand we have main-chain LCPs where the polymer chain itself contains the mesogenic groups. In the latter case we may either have a continuous semiflexible polymer chain or an alternating sequence of rigid aromatic mesogens and flexible aliphatic spacers. In Fig. 1 the various types of polymer liquid crystal are shown with some possible chemical structures.