OCCURRENCE OF LIQUID CRYSTALLINITY IN A BORAZINE POLYMER

The first all inorganic mesophase has been prepared by low-temperature processing of a borazine oligomer. Presumably the potential for planar alignment of the aromatic-like molecules can occur leading to the formation of a liquid-crystalline phase. Optical microscopy and XRD clearly show the development of mesophase textures as well as a reversible phase transition between the anisotropic and isotropic phases. Transmission electron microscopy of the solid obtained from further heating, while still in the liquid-crystalline phase, reveals the presence of a polycrystalline microstructure with long-range preferred orientation.