Structure, Properties, and Applications of LCP Liquid Crystal Polymers

LCP liquid crystal polymer

LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) is a liquid crystal polymer that contains three crystalline liquid crystal groups in its molecular structure. Due to the different positions of liquid crystal functional groups in the molecular structure, they exhibit different crystallization behaviors under conditions such as heat, light, oxygen, and water. Due to its unique liquid crystal properties, LCP can maintain its chemical stability within the range of -196~175 ℃, and has excellent chemical resistance, heat resistance, low temperature resistance, and electrical insulation, as well as good transparency. LCP has many excellent properties, making it a highly valuable polymer material for practical applications. At present, LCP is mainly used for manufacturing electrical insulation materials and electrical equipment, such as insulation plastics used for manufacturing electrical equipment casings, insulation plastics for transformer coil skeletons, etc.

LCP is widely used in fields such as medicine, electronics, and optics due to its unique liquid crystal properties, but its processing performance is poor due to its high crystallinity. Therefore, it is currently mainly used in the manufacturing of automotive parts or the production of electronic and electrical components in China. Overseas, Bay Basket and Electronics from the United States have developed LCP products for producing automotive electronic and electrical components, while Toray from Japan has developed LCP products for manufacturing optical glass.

Brief introduction

LCP is a polymer material with excellent comprehensive properties, composed of liquid crystal molecules. Due to cross-linking, orientation, and other complex physical and chemical changes between molecules, the molecular arrangement changes, forming different crystallinity and orientation states, thus possessing liquid crystal properties. LCP is composed of three different liquid crystal monomers, which can be copolymerized with various different monomers. LCP not only has excellent physical properties, but also has good heat resistance, oil resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, and electrical insulation properties. Its main advantages are good optical transparency, chemical corrosion resistance, and heat aging resistance.

2、 Structure

The composition units of LCP molecules are multifunctional polymers with branched chains such as alpha methyl methacrylate and alpha methyl butyric acid. The reported LCP molecular structures currently include two types:

(1) Random copolymers are monomers that combine with ether or ester bonds in the monomer to form a series of highly branched polymers. Due to the fact that this structure can endow materials with special properties, this molecule is called a random copolymer. Compared with polyamide, LCP has higher heat resistance, heat deformation temperature, and mechanical properties.

(2) Block copolymer is a structure in which multifunctional polymers with different chain lengths in the main chain are block copolymerized to form polymers with special properties. This block copolymer molecular structure is composed of multiple block polymers blended in multiple directions. This multifunctional polymer has good processability and unique properties.

3、 Performance

LCP has special liquid crystal characteristics, manifested in the following aspects:

(1) Higher crystallinity gives it superior mechanical properties;

(2) Good dielectric properties;

4、 Application

LCP has excellent processing performance and is a highly valuable material for practical applicationsPolymer materialsIt plays an important role in fields such as aerospace, automotive, electronics, and electrical appliances. LCP can be used in the aerospace industry to manufacture structural components such as composite materials and heat-resistant plates, and in the automotive industry to manufacture engine rotor parts, chassis parts, and electronic and electrical components. With the development of the electronic information industry, LCP material has been widely used in various electronic components IC packaging materials, communication equipment, and display devices, etc. Currently, multiple domestic and foreign companies are conducting industrial production research on LCP.

5、 References

[1] Huang Xueshu, Zhang Linsheng, Xiao Jianhui, Yan Gang. Research progress on LCP. Scientific Bulletin, 2011 (04): 33-34

[2] Yan Gang, Zhang Linsheng, Liu Chunsheng, Yang Weiming, Yang Ruiqing, etc. Journal of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2010 (03): 57-58