AbstractChiral nematic copolymers based on optically active cholesterol, dihydrocholesterol, (R)-(+)- and (S)-(−)-1-phenylethylamine, and (+)- and (−)- isopinocampheol were synthesized and characterized for the investigations of thermotropic and optical properties. Although helical sense does not appear to correlate with the sign of [α]D of the precursor chiral compound as suggested by the observations of cholesteryl and dihydrocholesteryl copolymers, the inversion of chirality in the pendant group, (R)-(+)- vs (S)-(−)-1-phenylethylamine, does lead to the opposite handedness in the resultant helical structure. To better understand the structure-property relationships involving helical sense and twisting power, systematic studies of the roles played by both nematogenic and chiral structures as well as other structural features of the comonomers should be conducted.
Scattering analysis of planar electric and magnetic dipoles in multilayered chiral structures