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Abstract
The mesophase behaviour of a side‐chain liquid crystalline polyacrylate (LCP) grown by drying a solution has been investigated. This LCP, characterised by a short spacer (four carbon atoms) and a long tail (10 carbon atoms), displays, at increasing temperatures, SmC and SmAd phases. The effect of the mean molecular weight, i.e. the mean number of side chains per polyacrylate main chain (18 and 51) on the lamellar width, was studied. LCP–silica nanocomposites have been synthesised by a sol‐gel process in the presence of LCP in the solution, followed by subcritical drying. The mesophase behaviour of these nanocomposites was compared to that of the corresponding bulk LCP. The experimental methods were polarised optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and synchrotron X‐ray scattering.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the CAPES/COFECUB 411‐03 program for financial support and to the ESRF, Grenoble, for access to the French CRG beamline D2AM. They also acknowledge the help of its technical staff, J.F. Berar, N. Boudet, B. Caillot and S. Arnaud. They also thank P. Gonçalves for the theoretical calculations, C. Kloster and A. Rigacci for their help in the preparation of silica–LCP nanocomposites, L.F. Schelp for his participation in the SAXS measurements and stimulating discussions, and I. Grillo for her help in the curve fitting by means of the NLR equation.