PNNL

Abstract

We examine the effect of polymer chain segmentation on the recently discovered ability of nematic solvents to elongate and align polymer chain solutes. Coordinated single molecule spectroscopy and beads-on-a-chain simulations are used to study the orientational and conformational order of a series of segmented conjugated polymers, dissolved in the nematic liquid crystal, 5CB. The order parameters for alignment and elongation are both observed to decrease with increasing segmentation, reflecting an interplay among conformational entropy, solvation anisotropy, and bending energy of the polymer chain.