Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Poly(Azomethine‐Ether)s Containing Dibenzylidene Derivatives in the Main Chain

A new homologous series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly (azomethine‐ether)s based on dibenzylidene derivatives were synthesized by solution polycondensation of various diformyl‐α,ω-diphenoxyalkanes, I–VIII with 2,6‐bis(m‐aminobenzylidene)‐4‐phenylcyclohexanone X, and characterized by 1H‐NMR, IR and elemental analyses. The inherent viscosities of the polymers were in the range 0.29–0.58 dI/g. All the poly (azomethine‐ether)s were insoluble in common organic solvents but dissolved completely in concentrated H2SO4 and methanesulphonic acid. The mesomorphic properties were studied as a function of the diphenoxyalkane space length. Analysis by DSC and optical polarized microscopy demonstrated that the poly (azomethine‐ether)s from nematic mesophases over wide temperature ranges.