CHARACTERIZATION OF A FIBER-REINFORCED NEW FULLY AROMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE POLYMER

A new rigid liquid crystalline polymer that demonstrates good mechanic al and thermomechanical properties and acceptable processing temperatu re has been recently synthesized and characterized. The melting temper ature and some thermomechanical properties do not seem, however, suita ble for use in some applications at high temperature or in the presenc e of aggressive fluids. The use of appropriate inorganic fillers can o vercome these shortcomings. In this work the new LCP, polymerized in a bench-scale apparatus, and the same sample filled with carbon fibers are characterized. The properties of the carbon fiber filled LCP are c ompared with those of another filled wholly aromatic commercial LCP, a carbon filled semirigid LCP, and the same semirigid LCP reinforced wi th glass fibers. In general, the mechanical properties of the filled L CP sample increase remarkably when the filler concentration is about 2 0%; however, with further increases in filler content, a decrease is o bserved. The thermal and chemical resistance of this new rigid LCP see ms slightly influenced by the addition of fibers, while the thermal re sistance of the other two LCP samples is remarkably improved.