Abstract
We study the shear induced behaviour of a side-chain liquid crystal polymer, PA-OCH3, within the smectic (SA
) phase using small angle neutron scattering technique. We show that the formation of multilayer cylinders oriented along the velocity direction is a stable geometry which can be observed at different shear rates and temperatures in the SA
phase. A careful examination of the scattering intensities displayed on both and
planes indicates that the population of layers is higher along the neutral axis
The perpendicular orientation is thus more favoured than the parallel one. In the vicinity of the nematic (N)- SA
phase transition a shear induced SA
phase is observed, followed by a shear induced nematic phase reentrance at higher shear rates. A comparison with low molecular weight liquid crystals is carried out. Ms number DV3663. PACS numbers: 10.10.+q, 12.13,Ji,14.80.Ef, 14.80.Gt