Conformational mobility in a polymer with mesogenic side groups - Dielectric and DSC studies

The relaxation times of the conformational rearrangements of the main-chain segments of a liquid crystalline side-chain polymer was determined from di fferential scanning calorimetry experiments in the temperature interval aro und and below its glass transition. Phenomenological models with fitting pa rameters were used to evaluate the temperature dependence of the relaxation times and the form parameter of the relaxation times distribution. These p arameters were compared with its counterparts in the dielectric alpha relax ation process which appear in the temperature interval immediately above th e calorimetric glass transition. For the temperature interval below the cal orimetric glass transition the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) resu lts were compared with the dielectric results obtained by the thermally sti mulated depolarisation technique. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.