화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.110, No.40, 19799-19803, 2006
Anisotropic diffusion of elongated and aligned polymer chains in a nematic solvent
The translational diffusion constant, D, of a polymer solute in a single-domain, nematic liquid crystal solvent (5CB) is measured in directions parallel and perpendicular to the nematic director using a fluorescence two-beam, cross-correlation technique. The solute under investigation is the stiff, conjugated polymer, MEH-PPV. The ratio D-parallel to/D-perpendicular to of diffusion constants (parallel and perpendicular to the director) is observed to be 1.9 +/- 0.3. This is surprisingly small considering that MEH-PPV is known to be both elongated and highly aligned along the liquid crystal director of 5CB. We therefore argue that the structural order parameter of the solvent governs the anisotropy of the diffusion of the solute.