SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL SIDE-CHAIN LIQUID-CRYSTALLINEPOLYCARBONATES

Side-chain liquid crystalline (SCLC) polycarbonates were prepared by c opolymerization of carbon dioxide with epoxides, carrying a nitrostilb ene mesogenic group and spacers of different lengths. The polymerizati on, carried out in an autoclave at high carbon dioxide pressure, was c atalyzed by an organozinc catalyst. The number average molecular weigh t of the polymers, as determined by GPC, was in the range of 4,300 to 38,000. The polydispersity of the polymers ranged from 5.9 to 80. H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR studies revealed that the obtained polymers contain c arbonate linkages (67-94%) as well as ether linkages in their backbone . Liquid-crystalline properties of the polymers were investigated by D SC, X-Ray diffraction and polarized optical microscopy.