IR dichroism study of orientational ordering of liquid-crystalline acrylates

Orientational ordering of four liquid-crystalline acrylates induced by the surface of KBr plates over a wide temperature range was studied by the IR dichroism technique. IR spectra of homogeneously aligned samples were used to calculate the angles between the direction of the transition moment for a series of vibrations of the mesogenic fragment and its long axis. A method for calculation of the homeotropic orientation parameter of molecules was proposed. The orientation parameters of homogeneously and homeotropically aligned samples in the nematic, smectic (A), and chiral smectic (I andH) phases were calculated. Thein situ photopolymerization of acrylates in the smectic phases occurs with retention of the orientational ordering in the polymer films formed.