ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the steady-state and transient viscometric behavior of the blend solutions of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and EC in m-cresol, mainly, as a function of blend composition. Rheological behavior of lytropic cholesteric liquid crystal-forming solutions has been investigated by using polypeptides and cellulose derivatives. The liquid crystal-forming polymer solutions generally exhibit the anomalous viscometric behavior as a function of polymer concentration or temperature, which is due to the phase transformation of the solutions. The rheological behavior of liquid crystal-forming polymer solutions is governed by the phase of the blend solutions. The steady-state viscoelastic behavior for polypeptides and cellulose derivatives, in particular, water-soluble HPC, has been determined and grasped quantitatively with respect to the effects of experimental conditions. The retardation time of HPC was smaller than that of EC for the isotropic phase, whereas the retardation time of HPC was greater than that of EC for the anisotropic phase.
