Defect morphology in a biaxial thermotropic polymer

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Optical observations of the thread texture of a nematic thermotropic polymer commercially known as VECTRA B950 have shown the existence of three types of half integer disclination lines, called here Ex, Ey and Ez, sometimes associated with integer disclination lines. This plurality of defects is typical of the biaxial nature of this nematic phase, due to interchain rotational correlations between phenyl rings. The relationships between defects which arise from the topological theory are confirmed, in static as well as in dynamic experiments. During shear flow, there is a splitting of Ey into Ex and Ez at a shear deformation lower than that corresponding to the multiplication of Ex and Ez defects

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: