Synthesis and mesomorphic properties of fishbone-like liquid crystalline polysilsesquioxanes, 3. Fishbone-like,azo-based liquid crystalline polysilsesquioxane

Homopolymeric H-FP (FP: fishbone-like, azo-based liquid crystalline polysilsesquioxanes) and copolymeric C-FP were synthesized by hydrosilylation reaction of a vinylterminated azo compound with a ladder-like poly(hydrosilsesquioxane) (H-T) and random poly(methylhydrosilsesquioxane) (MH-T), respectively, in the presence of Cp₂PtCl₂ (Cp: cyclopentadienyl) used as the catalyst. This new type of liquid crystalline polymers is thermotropic. With increasing temperature FP's first enter a mesophase showing a normal texture, and then some peculiar textures different from the ordinary mesophase appear at an elevated temperature showing some bright belts, lines and spots on the black background, which can be supposed to be a self-organized structure originating from ladder-like main chain aggregation or association via interaction between the mesomorphic side chains.