LC Ionomers with Phosphonate Groups and Their Multilayer Build-Up

This paper describes the synthesis of new liquid-crystalline (LC) ionomers (semiflexible LC mainchain polymers with ionic groups as side groups) by polycondensation of substituted malonates with mesogenic diols. Phosphonic acids were used as negative groups, and phosphonium and ammonium ions as positive groups. The presence of these ionic groups leads to gelation (physical crosslinking) of the polymers, which display a rubbery consistency. As expected from the reference polymers without an ionic group, all polymers show smectic phases. These phases are destabilized by bulky side groups (e.g., phosphonium ions or phosphonic acid esters). They are, however, stabilized by phosphonic acid group…