Polymers with mesogenic elements in the main chain: A nematic aromatic copolyester

Properties of a copolyester based on methylhydroquinone, pyrocatechol and terephthalic acid have been described. Light scattering data for the copolyester in chloroform and dichloroacetic acid are well represented by $\text{M}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{w}}\text{=220 000}$ while the intrinsic viscosity is 0.22 dl g^?1, which implies a compact arrangement of the molecule in dilute solution. Differential scanning calorimetry (d.s.c.) traces show that the copolyester is essentially non-crystalline in character. Polarizing microscopy (texture observations, miscibility tests) provides definite proof as to the nematic structure of the melt. Well aligned samples can be produced either by subjecting nematic melt to a magnetic field (H_c = 0.6 T) or by suitable treatments of the slides between which the melt is observed. The conoscopic interference pattern corresponds to that of a uniaxial system showing an optically positive character. A structural model is proposed to account for the X-ray patterns obtained from oriented samples.