2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Preparation of solid cholesteric films from biomaterials and usage of their optical performances
| Project/Area Number |
13450389
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
高分子構造・物性(含繊維)
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| Research Institution | TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY |
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Principal Investigator |
WATANABE. Junji Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Professor, 大学院・理工学研究科, 教授 (90111666)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TOKITA Masatoshi Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Research Associate, 大学院・理工学研究科, 助手 (30301170)
KAWAUCHI Susumu Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Research Associate, 大学院・理工学研究科, 助手 (80204676)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2002
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| Keywords | liquid crystal / stepwise transformation / Rod-like molecule / cholesteric phase / smectic phase / columnar phase / polysilane / polypeptide |
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| Research Abstract |
In the biological systems, there are many rod-like molecules which can form the liquid crystals. These molecules form the microfibril and are widely distributed in the skeletal systems, including plant cells, insect cuticles, bone and cornea. They function like angle-ply laminates which have the helical twisted structure as in the cholesteric liquid crystal, leading to the hypothesis that the molecules are oriented by spontaneous ordering or self-assembly during a formation of cholesteric liquid crystalline phases.
More recent theoretical studies indicate that the biological rod-like molecules can also form the smectic and hexagonal columnar liquid crystals other than the cholesteric one. The variety of structures are responsible for the variety of performances in the biological system. In this study, by using the polysilane, we have successfully confirmed that simple rod-like polymers show the stepwise transformation to the higher ordered liquid crystal from simple cholesteric liquid crystal. According to these studies, we also success in the preparation of the high performance materials with the excellent mechanical properties and optical properties.
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Research Products
(10 results)
