Thermogravimetric analysis of liquid crystal–polymer blends

Blends of semi-crystalline polymers, i.e. poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA) and polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF), with cholesteryl palmitate (CP) as a low molecular weight liquid crystal were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis under dynamic conditions. The resulting data, together with the analysis of activation energies, demonstrate that adding the low molecular weight component determines different thermal behaviour for these blends.