Abstract
The synthesis of six liquid crystalline monomers M1–M6 and three series of side chain cholesteric liquid crystalline polymers P1–P3 is described. The chemical structures of the monomers were characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The structure–property relationships of M1–M6 and P1–P3 are discussed. Their phase behaviour and optical properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy. The monomers M1–M3 exhibited cholesteric phases; M4–M6 showed nematic or smectic phases. The polymer series P1–P3 showed cholesteric phases. Experimental results demonstrated that the selective reflection of the cholesteric monomers and homopolymers shifted to the shorter wavelength region (blue shift) with increasing length of the flexible spacer. The selective reflection of the copolymers shifted to the longer wavelength region (red shift) with increasing content of nematic units.