STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS WITH DIFFERENT MOLECULAR ARCHITECTURES FROM MULTIDIMENSIONAL NMR - PLENARY LECTURE

A survey is given on the structure and dynamics of liquid-crystalline polymers with different molecular architectures as revealed by multidimensional NMR. Specific examples discussed include semiflexible systems, rigid-rod systems, calamitic, and discotic liquid crystals. Structural aspects include the determination of high rank order parameters, the micro-order in frozen liquid crystals and the packing of flexible side chains. Dynamic processes discussed are local dynamics in the glassy state, conformational dynamics and collective phenomena such as the development of convective director structures and dynamic density modulations along columnar structures. It is demonstrated that advanced NMR spectroscopy yields highly specific information not available from conventional scattering, microscopic and relaxation techniques.