ABSTRACT
The liquid crystalline phase, or mesophase, is a particular state of matter characterized on a macroscopic scale by long-range order; it is similar to uid in that matter has the ability to ow (Percec and Tomazos 1992). Generally, molecules must have asymmetric shapes to form liquid crystals (LCs). For polymers, the mesogenic groups (basic structural units that form in liquid crystalline phases) are present either in the main chain with exible segments or in the side chain connected to the exible backbone. The mesogenic groups are known to give polymers their LC character. However, there are some macromolecular compounds that do not contain mesogenic groups but that are also capable of forming LC phases (Collyer 1992; Acierno and Brostow 1996; Brostow 1998). This aspect can be ascribed to their rigid or semi-rigid backbone, which creates steric effects or intramolecular hydrogen bonding that restricts the exibility of the chain. Application of a shear deformation leads to complex ow behavior, and a specic texture results after relaxation of the chains that can be further induced to other materials (Cosutchi et al. 2010).
