Twelve azomethine polymers containing a banana-shaped mesogen as a repeating unit have
been synthesized by polycondensation, and their mesomorphic properties were studied. The solution
viscosities were measured in a 0.16 g/dL solution in H2SO4 at 30 °C, and the values are in the range
0.37−0.79 dL/g. Polymers obtained were characterized by FT/IR and NMR spectrometry, differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The effect of spacer
length and lateral substituents on the central core as well as the sidearms of these polymers are described.
Of the 12 polymers, eight polymers are found to be thermotropic liquid crystals. Among four polymers
with a dioxydodecamethylenene spacer, three polymers exhibited banana phases and one polymer revealed
a smectic phase; four polymers with a dioxyhexamethylene spacer showed only a nematic phase. The
structures of the banana phases in the polymers are also described.
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