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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
A series of Main-chain liquid crystalline polymers with long andpolydisperse soft segments has been synthesized. The thermal properties ofthese polymers have been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry,optical microscopy and wide angle X-ray diffraction. Unexpectedly, thesepolymers have a strong tendency to form purely smectic Mesophases. Thedegree of ordering of these polymeric mesophases is Much higher than that ofthe mesophase formed by a low molecular weight Model compound with the sameMesogen. The soft segment length effects on thermal behavior of suchsegmented copolymers have been elucidated. A semi-quantitative theory hasbeen formulated to interpret these observations. A phase diagram relatingthermal properties to soft segment length has been proposed.