Physical properties of electron beam-cured tripropyleneglycoldiacrylate and liquid crystal systems

Same salient features of physical properties of Tripropyleneglycol diacrylate (TPGDA) and the low molecular weight nematic liquid crystal E7 are discussed. A variety of experimental techniques giving complementary information of monomer and Electron Beam (EB) cured systems are employed to illustrate the effect of curing. A detailed thermophysical analysis is made first to assess the conditions of miscibility, determine the order-disorder transition and the glass transition temperature. DSC spectra yield the energy change at the transitions from which important parameters are readily extracted such as solubility limits and amount of liquid crystal dissolved in the polymer. Polarized Optical Microscopy enables us to follow phase transitions and morphology changes in different regions of the phase diagram. Consistent data are obtained from mechanical measurements in particular with regards to the variation of the glass transition temperature with liquid crystal concentration and the related plasticizing effect.