Observation of hairpin defects in a nematic main-chain polyester

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Abstract
The conformation of a main-chain liquid crystalline polyester in its oriented nematic phase has been determined by small-angle neutron scattering. The data are fitted by a model of rigid cylinder with orientational fluctuations. For a low degree of polymerization (\ensuremath{\sim}9) the chain is almost completely elongated in the direction of the nematic field. For a polymer 3 times longer, the existence of two hairpins is shown at high temperature; this number decreases with decreasing temperature.