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Abstract
A series of liquid-crystalline polystyrene derivatives with pendant mesogenic groups has been prepared and characterized. The side-chain is connected to the polystyrene backbone by a methyleneoxyhexyloxy spacer. The mesogenic group is a 4-alkoxy substituted biphenyl group. The length of the alkoxy end-group varied from a methoxy group to an octyloxy group. The polymers were synthesized by a radical reaction. Molar masses (M n) varied between 17,000 and 46,000, with a molar mass distribution between 1.6 and 2.0. All the polymers were liquid-crystalline, with enantiotropic smectic phases. The polymers were characterized with polarizing microscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and calorimetry.