35. Lyotropic liquid crystal behavior of polystyrene-block-polyisoprene diblock copolymers in toluene as a truly neutral solvent
writer：Wei Wang, Takeji Hashimoto
keywords：Block copolymers; Polystyrene-block-polyisoprene; Lamellar morphology
source：期刊
specific source：Polymer
Issue time：2000年
We present our experimental observations concerning lyotropic liquid crystal behavior and textures of the solutions of the two polystyrene-block-polyisoprene block copolymers in a truly neutral solvent (toluene). The block copolymers used either lamellar or cylindrical microdomains in bulk and also in solutions above the critical concentration (cc). The optical textures, such as fan-shaped texture, parabolic focal conic texture and oily streaks, which have been often observed in smectics or columnar phases of lyotropic low-molecular-weight liquid crystals, were observed in the solutions above cc enclosed in between two glass slides. This demonstrates that the smectic or columnar lyotropic phases are formed in the ordered solutions. Further, we discuss the origin of the formation of the lyotropic phases of the block copolymer solutions in relation to the microdomain structures of the solutions.