Friction and scratch resistance of polymer liquid crystals: Effects of magnetic field orientation

We have studied PET/0.6 PHB, an alternating copolymer in which PET is poly(ethylene terephthalate) and PHB is p-hydroxybenzoic acid with the mole fraction of 0.6 PHB. It is a longitudinal polymer liquid crystal (PLC) with the LC sequences in the main chain and oriented along the chain backbone. Material not subjected to the magnetic field, specimens oriented along and perpendicularly to the flux of the magnetic field, were investigated. Static friction, dynamic friction, scratch penetration depth, and healing of the material were determined. Static and dynamic friction parameters for oriented samples have significant higher values for oriented samples. The best scratch resistance is found for the sample aligned along the magnetic field. The results are explained in terms of morphology revealed by scanning electron microscopy and phase structures.