A new series of liquid-crystalline polymers with a polymer backbone of limonene-co-methyl methacrylate were synthesized and characterized, and the spacer length was taken to be nine methylene units. The chemical structures of the obtained olefinic compound and polymers were confirmed with elemental analysis and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The thermal behavior and liquid crystallinity of the polymers were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. The polymers exhibited thermotropic liquid-crystalline behavior and displayed a glass-transition temperature at 48 degrees C. The appearance of the characteristic schlieren texture confirmed the presence of a nematic phase, which was observed under polarized optical microscopy. These liquid-crystalline polymers exhibited optical activity. A comparison was also made with polyacrylates and polymethacrylate-based materials. This revealed that the nature of the polymer backbone had a major effect on the liquid-crystalline properties. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J