Correlation between the pretilt angle of liquid crystal and the inclination angle of the polyimide backbone structure

We have determined the inclination angle of the backbone structure of polyimide with alkyl side-chains in rubbed films. Four different polyimides with the same backbone structure but different lengths of alkyl side-chains were used in this study. The inclination angle of the backbone structure increases with the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl side-chains. We found a linear relation between the inclination angle of the backbone structure and the pretilt angle of liquid crystal (LC) that is in contact with the polyimide films. We conclude that the inclination of the polyimide backbone structure determines the pretilt angle of LC.