Synthesis and characterisation of laterally substituted noncentrosymmetric main chain hydrogen-bonded polymers

Abstract

A series of laterally substituted noncentrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded liquid crystalline polymers which incorporate stilbazole acceptor units, alkyl or ethylene glycol linkers units, and benzoic acid or phenol donor units were prepared and investigated for their hydrogen bonding behaviour and phase transitions. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) indicated that these polymers possess strong intermolecular donor–acceptor hydrogen bonding. These polymers have lower melting points than their non-substituted analogue, and some of the polymers are mesomorphic.

Keywords:

• hydrogen bonding
• liquid crystalline polymers
• polymorphism

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Materials Technology Center at SIUC and the Office of Research Development and Administrations at SIUC for partial support of this project. The authors are also grateful to the members of the synthesis department at ABC Laboratories in Columbia, MO, USA, for suggestions related to this article.

Funding

This article is partially supported the National Science Foundation [grant number CHE-0094195].

Supplemental data

Detailed synthesis procedures are available in the supplemental data.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.