Effect of Blending of Cholesteric Cellulose Esters on the Pitch Height

Butyric esters (BuPC) of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) with different degrees of substitution (DS) were obtained by the reaction of (2-hydroxypropyl)cellulose with butyryl chloride. Blends of these BuPCs were obtained from ternary solutions by removal of the com mon solvent. The blends displayed thermotropic choles teric mesophases and showed iridescent colors at ambient temperatures depending on the blend composition. The spectroscopic analysis of the blends showed systematic variations of the reflection colors with variations of the ratio of the blend components between the reflection colors of the pure blend components covering the range from 453-938 nm corresponding to pitch heights from 308 640 nm.