Synthesis and properties of side chain liquid crystalline ionomers containing quaternary ammonium salt groups

New thermotropic side chain liquid crystalline ionomers (LCIs), containing 4-(4-allyloxybenzyloxy)-4′-alkoxybiphenyl (IM) as mesogenic unit and allyltriethylammonium bromide (ATAB) as non-mesogenic unit, were synthesized by graft copolymerization upon polymethylhydrosiloxane. The chemical structures of the polymers were confirmed by IR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure the thermal properties of these polymers; the mesogenic properties were characterized by polarizing optical micrography, DSC and X-ray diffraction. The influence of the alkoxy chain length on the clearing temperatures of the ionomers is clearly shown in an odd-even effect, similar to other side chain liquid crystal polymers. The mesomorphic behaviour of the ionomers is compared with that of isomeric ionomers synthesized in previous work. The results demonstrate that the phase behaviour of the two series of isomeric ionomers is similar, but with the difference that the melting temperature of ionomers with biphenyl located at the end of the mesogen is higher than for ionomers with biphenyl located at the middle of the mesogen. The latter are more useful for smectic orientational order than the former.