Liquid crystal polymers with dual properties of fluorescence and selective reflection-design, synthesis and characterisation

In this paper, two series of side chain fluorescent cholesteric liquid crystal polymers (FL-ChLCPs) were prepared by one-step method with polymethyl-hydrosiloxane (PMHS) as the main chain. Two series of polymers differ in the structure of vinyl flexible chains of fluorescent monomer, the comparative study was conducted on their performance of liquid crystal and fluorescence. The compounds and polymers were characterised using conventional methods. The results indicated all polymers possessed dual optical properties of fluorescence and selective reflection, they also had excellent thermal stability. The FL-ChLCPs emitted different intensity fluorescence under UV light, the fluorescence intensity has a certain relationship with temperature and aggregation-caused quenching effect only occurs when the content of fluorescent monomer in the polymer exceeds 20%.