Thermal Characterization of Liquid Crystalline Materials

During the last years, there has been a significant interest in the field of liquid crystalline components, polymers in particular.[1,2] There is a definite need to use a wide range of methods to characterize these materials. Thermal properties need to be examined properly in order to obtain the glass-transition temperature, melting, clearing and crystallization temperatures. The first part of this paper will give an introduction to the basic principles of the liquid crystalline state. The outstanding properties as well as the required chemical structure will be discussed. The second part deals with the characterization of these materials by means of optical, thermal and scattering techniques available in our laboratory.