Rheo-Optical Studies on a Polymer Liquid Crystal Under the Influence of Flow or Magnetic Fields.
Abstract
The response of a lyotropic liquid crystal to an external perturbing field (flow or magnetic field) has been studied. Solutions of rodlike poly(1,4-phenylene -2,6-benzobisthiazole) (PBT) in methane sulfonic acid (MSA) have been used. The study is primarily limited to the anisotropic phase. Two molecular weights were used, both forming a liquid-crystalline phase above 3% by weight of the polymer in solution. Flow birefringence measurements were attempted to characterize flow-induced orientation in the nematic phase. However, a stable, uniform, steady-state flow condition was not reached. The transmitted intensities of polarized light, both with and without an analyzer, fluctuate rapidly, indicating that a stable, uniform flow did not obtain in torsional shear flow. By contrast, a constant stress was measured above 100 units of strain. During the course of this study, we were successful in obtaining monodomain nematic solutions. Monodomains were used to study the response of the material to external fields (flow or magnetic field). Experiments were done in the twist geometry in an effort to obtain the twist elastic constant for the solutions. We found that an instability is created on the application of a magnetic field, producing a phase grating. The instability has been characterized by light microscopy, fluorescence polarization and conoscopy. Theoretical description of this instability is unavailable as yet. We have demonstrated that the instability involves a three -dimensional flow pattern which gives rise to a reorientation of the director in three dimensions. Monodomains were used to study the flow properties of PBT solutions. Microscopic observations were made on textures created during flow. Conoscopy was used to study the director distortion at the onset of shear flows. We have established that alpha_2/ alpha_3 is less than zero, giving rise to unstable flow conditions. Situations with flow parallel and perpendicular to the director were examined. We have found a number of instabilities that bear a striking similarity to those observed for small-molecule nematogens. We have shown that existing theories for of the flow behavior of polymeric nematics do not describe the experimental observations reported in this study. A number of instabilities observed, at least in a qualitative sense, in terms of the Ericksen-Leslie formulation.
- Publication:
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Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- January 1990
- Bibcode:
- 1990PhDT.......158S
- Keywords:
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- Chemistry: Polymer; Chemistry: Physical; Physics: Optics