High Chiral Induction In Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Of Aromatic Polyesters With Chiral Naphthyl Ethylamine Groups At Their Polymer Ends

摘要

Chiral aromatic liquid crystal (LC) polyesters were prepared by incorporating (R)-(+)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine (NEA) to both their ends, and the helical twisting powers were determined for the cholesteric LCs in mixtures with the homologous nematic polymer. The chiral NEA groups in the polymer ends were found to act as an effective chiral inducer so that only a small chiral content of 2-5 wt% can induce the helical pitches, which are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. Together with the easy preparation of chiral polymers and the simple processing to polymer cholesteric films, the high induction of chirality gives the opportunity to produce large-area nanostructures at low cost, which could be applied to the development of optical devices.