THE STATE-OF-THE-ART IN METALLOMESOGENIC POLYMERS

The study of metallomesogenic polymers is an emerging area in the rese arch of liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs). These new polymeric materi als are formed by metal-containing mesogenic units, which are arranged by similar criteria to organic LCPs. In this work, the contributions on both non-crosslinked and crosslinked polymeric materials with a mai n-chain or side-chain arrangement will be reviewed. The synthetic appr oaches to metallomesogenic polymers and their physical properties as s tudied so far will also be discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.