Thermal properties and structure of nematic liquid crystalline polymer nanocomposite with single wall carbon nanotubes

Nanocomposite of single-wall carbon nanotubes and thermotropic main-chain polyester poly(2,2′-dimethyl-4,4′-dioxyazoxybenzene) was successfully designed by solvent mixing. The filler did not disrupt the phase transitions of the neat polymer (isotropic melt – nematic mesophase - crystalline) but it led to dramatic changes in the mechanism of phase formation from homogeneous to heterogeneous, suggesting better ordered nematic phase and much larger nematic domains in the nanocomposite, as proven by polarized optical microscopy. The nanofiller led to film forming properties. The film morphology consisted of fibers, organized in lamella, as reveled by scanning electron microscopy.