FULLY AROMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE HOMOPOLYESTERS AND COPOLYESTERS OF 1,1'-BINAPHTHYL-4,4'-DIOL

A series of fully aromatic, thermotropic polyesters based on 1,1'-binaphthyl-4,4'-diol, BND, was prepared by the melt polycondensation method and characterized for their thermotropic behavior by a variety of experimental techniques. The homopolymer of BND with terephthalic acid formed a nematic melt at 35-degrees-C. In contrast, the polyester from BND and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid had a melting transition, T(m), above 400-degrees-C, so it was not possible with the equipment available to determine whether it formed a nematic melt. All of the copolymers of BND formed nematic melts at much lower T(m) values than those of its respective homopolymers, as expected, because of the copolymerization effect of the added monomer. Moreover, all of the copolymers had higher glass transition temperatures, T(g), than those of other liquid crystalline polyesters and higher thermal stabilities. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.