Polar Nematic Phase in Lyotcopic Solutions of Poly(γ-benzyl glutamate) As Detected by SHG Measurement

Rigidity and chirality are topical characteristics of α-helical polypeptides and explain the tendency for polypeptide molecules to form a cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) in concentration solutions. Polarity is also an important feature of polypeptide helices. Since the helical conformation of polypeptides is built up by intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the proton donor N-H group and the proton accepter C=O group, residue dipole components accumulate along the polymer chain,producing an extremely large dipole moment,μ; for example, μ= 4000D for an α-helix with a degree of polymerization of 10002. Recently, theoretical calculations and computer simulations3 predict the existence of polar (or ferroelectric) nematic phase in which polar molecules align with the same directionality of polar axis although no experimental example has been reported so far.
Chu-Chun Yen
Department of Materials Science,Fudan University,220 Handan Road,Shanghai 200433,China
国际会议
5th International Symposium on High-Tech Polymer Materials(HTPM-V)(第五届国际高技术高分子材料学术会议)
北京
英文
104-105
2008-10-27(万方平台首次上网日期,不代表论文的发表时间)