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Molecular Shapes of Monosubstituted Polyacetylenes in their Liquid Crystalline Phases
Author(s) -
Liu KaiPeng,
Yu ZhenQiang,
Liu JiaHao,
Chen ErQiang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.200900011
Subject(s) - mesogen , side chain , chemistry , liquid crystalline , liquid crystal , crystallography , molecule , melting point , stereochemistry , materials science , phase (matter) , organic chemistry , polymer , optoelectronics
In this short review, we discuss the molecular shapes of monosubstituted polyacetylenes (MSPAs) in their liquid crystalline (LC) phases. Their rigid backbone with high stereoregularity can endow MSPAs with significant shape persistency, which largely determines their LC structures. Helical cis ‐cisoidal and cis ‐transoidal MSPAs render rod‐like shapes and can form columnar LC (Φ) phases. In the smectic LC (Sm) phases of MSPAs with mesogenic side‐chains, the main chain, with trans ‐cisoidal, trans ‐transoidal or extended cis ‐transoidal conformation, is in fact largely coplanar with the side‐chains, resulting in a sheet‐like molecular shape. From a simple geometric point of view, the rod‐ or sheet‐like MSPA molecules serve as the building block of their LC phases.