Liquid-crystalline ordering in the solution of long persistent chains

The orientational ordering in the solution of long persistent macromolecules is studied by means of the Onsager method. It is shown that the liquid-crystalline transition occurs at significantly higher concentrations and that the order parameter at the transition point is much smaller than for the model of freely-jointed segments. It is concluded that the orientational ordering in the solutions of semiflexible chains depends essentially on the flexibility distribution along the chain contour.