https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2010-10632-1
Regular Article
Calorimetric study of the Paranematic-to-Nematic transition of polydomain side-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers with different mesogen composition
1
Condensed Matter Physics Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2
EN FIST Centre of Excellence, Dunajska 156, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
3
Institut für Makromoleculate Chemie, 056 Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
4
Department of Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
* e-mail: george.cordoyiannis@ijs.si
** e-mail: zdravko.kutnjak@ijs.si
Received:
15
February
2010
Revised:
7
May
2010
Accepted:
11
June
2010
Published online:
8
July
2010
The phase transition behaviour of various nematic side-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers with different mesogen composition has been explored by means of high-resolution ac calorimetry. Polydomain samples of the same crosslinking density and different type of mesogens have been investigated. The results show a strong dependence of the phase transition features upon the composition of the mesogen. The distance from the critical point, reflected in the sharpness of the heat capacity anomalies, increases when adding a shorter-length mesogen. The results provide new insight for the impact of mesogens on the thermodynamic behaviour and, thus, on the thermomechanical response of nematic liquid-crystalline elastomers.
© EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2010
