Small angle X-ray analysis of the effect of temperature on the self-assembling columnar structures formed by a polymethacrylate with highly tapered side groups and by one of its low molar mass precursors

Small angle X-ray methods have been used to investigate the self-assembling columnar structures formed by a polymethacrylate with large highly tapered side groups, and by one of its low molar mass precursors. The polymer is poly{2-{2-[2-(2-methacryloyloxyethoxy)ethoxy] ethoxy}ethyl-3,4,5-tris(p-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)-benzoate} (H12-ABG-4EO-PMA); the precursor is 2-{2-[2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-ethoxy]ethoxy}-ethyl-3,4,5-tris(p-dodecyl- oxybenzyloxy)benzoate (H12-ABG-4EO-OH). Both the polymer and the precursor form three dimensionally ordered structures at room temperature, consisting of hexagonally packed cylinders with diameters in the region of 60 and 53Å, respectively, in which the interiors of the columns probably have helical arrays of the stacked tapered groups. At higher temperatures these are converted to columnar hexagonal (φ_h) liquid crystalline phases. At temperatures close to this transition for the precursor we detect two coexisting columnar structures, with the φ_h structure having a diameter approximately 1Å higher than that in the solid state. For the polymer, the data are not so well resolved, and coexisting phases cannot be resolved. However, the changes in column dimensions are larger than for the precursor. Conversion of the room temperature phase to the φ_h phase at 40°C results in an increase of 3Å in the diameter, which then declines by approximately the same amount as the temperature rises to 90°C, close to the isotropization point. Cooling to room temperature does not immediately restore the room temperature structure. Rather, we obtain a quenched φ_h structure, with a column diameter almost 10% higher. These dimensional changes correlate well with the changes in diameter with temperature seen for the bulk fiber, and suggest a continuous rearrangement of the interiors of the columns in the φ_h phase, such as a partial unwinding of a disordered helical structure.