Photopolymerization of a Liquid Crystalline Monomer

Abstract
Photopolymerization of a liquid crystalline methacrylate monomer containing a cholesteryl moiety was conducted in different phase states of the monomer. The polymerization rate, followed with a modified differential scanning calorimeter, was highest in the cholesteric (Ch) phase and least in the crystalline (K) state. Apparently the polymerization rate depends both on the ordering and the mobility of the monomer.