The side-chain type liquid crystalline polymers are normally flexible chain polymers.However

because of the unique molecular architecture the mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymers are rigid (or semi-rigid) chain polymrs even if they have mesogenic units as side groups as it is in the flexible side-chain type liquid crystalline polymes.In other words

mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymrs are side-chain type polymers when viewed from the point of chemical structures

they are main-chain type polymers when viewed from their physical properties.The evolution of the concept and the progress in study on mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymers are discussed.