STRUCTURE AND DEFECTS IN SANIDIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS .1.

A series of polymeric ''sanidic'' materials were investigated and a nu mber of criteria developed which must be fulfilled in order to classif y these materials as liquid crystalline. By a combination of electron diffraction and high-resolution imaging, the biaxial phase is shown to consist of poorly developed microcrystals embedded in a Liquid-Like a morphous matrix. Only some materials are able to form a liquid crystal line phase at higher temperatures, but this phase is uniaxial.