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Liquid crystalline suspensions of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) 'whiskers'

Nature volume 333, pages 55–56 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Theoretical treatments predict that solutions of long rod-like molecules above a critical concentration should separate spontaneously into an isotropic and an anisotropic, or liquid crystalline phase1–3. It has become evident that liquid crystallinity is dominated by geometrical factors3 and is not a property associated with molecules per se. Liquid crystalline order thus can be expected in dispersions of any kind of asymmetric objects, provided that flocculation does not occur. Well known systems displaying supramolecular liquid crystallinity are suspensions of tobacco mosaic virus4, haemoglobin S (ref. 5) and cellulose microcrystals6. Supramolecular liquid crystalline order in synthetic polymer systems has received little attention, and liquid crystallinity is commonly associated with intrinsically rigid or semirigid macromolecules or macromolecules with mesogenic side-groups7,8. Here we report the formation of liquid crystalline order in suspensions of (extended chain) crystalline whiskers of the flexible macro molecule poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE).

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Thomas Folda

    Present address: Narmco Materials, 1440 N. Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim, California, 92806, USA

  2. Heinz Hoffmann

    Present address: Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie der Universität Bayreuth, Postfach 3008, D-8580, Bayreuth, FRG

  3. Henri Chanzy

    Present address: CERMAV(CNRS), BP68, 38402, Saint Martin d'Hères, France

  4. Paul Smith

    Present address: Materials Department and Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Research & Development Department, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, 19898, USA

    Thomas Folda, Heinz Hoffmann, Henri Chanzy & Paul Smith

Authors
  1. Thomas Folda
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  2. Heinz Hoffmann
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  3. Henri Chanzy
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  4. Paul Smith
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Folda, T., Hoffmann, H., Chanzy, H. et al. Liquid crystalline suspensions of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) 'whiskers'. Nature 333, 55–56 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333055a0

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