FLUORESCENT FERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE COPOLYACRYLATES

Fluorescent liquid crystalline side chain polymers were synthesized by copolymerization of a ferroelectric monomer and 5 per cent of various blue fluorescent naphthalic imide dye comonomers. Those copolymers we re characterized by DSC, X-ray, GPC and optical microscopy. In favoura ble cases, fast switching fluorescent ferroelectric polymers resulted, exhibiting high tilt angles (up to similar to 34 degrees) and spontan eous polarization values (up to similar to 115 nC cm(-2)) in the S-C phase. One fluorescent copolymer shows orthogonal smectic phases exclu sively due to the structure of the incorporated fluorescent comonomer. In this case a strong electroclinic effect and high induced tilt angl es (12 degrees 10V mu m(-1)) have been observed in the S-A phase. Orde r parameters, S, of the dye moieties up to 0.64 were measured in the r oom temperature S-B phase for the copolymers.