New Photosensitive Chiral Liquid Crystal Copolymers.

A.Yu. Bobrovsky, N.I. Boiko, V.P. Shibaev

Chemistry Department, Moscow State University,

Vorobyevy Gory, 119899 Moscow, Russia.

A new chiral menthone-based acrylic monomer, capable to trans-cis isomerization, was synthesized

and used to obtain a homopolymer and aseries of comb-shaped copolymers with a nematogenic monomer.

The phase diagram and optical properties of the new photosensitive copolymers were studied and it

established that the copolymers are capable to forming chiral nematic phases. Preliminary data on

the photochemical behavior of the copolymers were obtained. It is demonstrated that UV irradiation

significantly changes the pitch of the helix in copolymer samples with planar orientation.