Anisotropic liquid crystalline epoxy thermoset

The processing of an anisotropic liquid crystalline thermoset formed by p-bis(2,3-epoxypropoxy)-α-methylstilbene (DOMS) and 1-methyl-2,4-diaminobenzene (DAT) with uniformly oriented mesomorphic molecules, and consequently strongly birefringent, is described. The unidirectional alignment of the molecules was achieved during the curing process by external factors such as surface-liquid crystal interactions and/or an applied electric field. The control over the molecular orientation enabled us to produce well oriented highly anisotropic and birefringent epoxy thin films. In this paper, we discuss the formation process and the properties of the anisotropic epoxy network