Langmuir, Vol.12, No.11, 2825-2829, 1996
Interfacial Gradient of Molecular Ordering in Organized Films of a Liquid-Crystalline Discotic Polymer
Langmuir-Blodgett films from a discotic liquid crystalline (LC) polymer display a gradient of molecular organization across the substrate-polymer interface. "Average" molecular order in multilayer films is bilayer-columnar packing with complete interdigitation of discotic groups similar to the ordering observed in the bulk mesomorphic state. Restructuring of molecular order is observed in molecular layers adjacent to a silicon substrate. The molecular packing evolves from one-layer packing in the very first layer to incomplete interdigitated packing in the second and the third molecular layers. Complete interdigitation of side discotic groups is realized in the fourth and the following monolayers of the LC polymer.