Main-chain liquid crystal (LC) PB-10-x(n) polyesters with number average degrees of polymerization (x(n)) ranging from 12 to 50 were prepared. The PB-10 polyesters formed smectic I (SmI) LCs that consisted of 40-nm-thick lamellae stacked along the polymer chain direction. Although the LC lamella thickness (d(LC)) was largely independent of x(n), the isotropization temperature (T-i )of the Sml LCs decreased by 12 C with decreasing x(n). Such a decrease in T-i can be explained by the inclusion of polymer chain ends in the LC lamellae, which resulted in the low isotropization enthalpy and curved LC lamellae, as observed in PB-10-12. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.