Issue 15, 2019

Molecular curvature, specific intermolecular interactions and the twist-bend nematic phase: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)hexanes (CB6O.m)

Abstract

The syntheses and characterisation of the first ten homologues of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)hexanes (CB6O.m) are reported. All ten members of the series exhibit an enantiotropic nematic, N, phase, and a monotropic twist-bend nematic, NTB, phase. Only CB6O.10 shows a smectic phase. The assignment of both nematic phases was confirmed using X-ray diffraction. For short chain lengths (m = 1–6) the local packing in both nematic phases is an intercalated arrangement, for intermediate chain lengths a frustrated local structure is seen and for the longest chain length, a bilayer arrangement is observed. This change in the local structure on increasing m has no apparent effect on the stability of either nematic phase, and TNTBN and TNI show a regular dependence on m. Specifically, TNTBN and TNI decrease on increasing m and superimposed upon this is a weak odd–even effect in which the odd members show the higher values. TNI decreases more rapidly than TNTBN on increasing m such that the ratio TNTBN/TNI increases. The lower temperature liquid crystal phase shown by 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-5-(4-butylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)pentane (CBO5O.4) is reassigned as a twist-bend nematic phase. The transitional properties of the CB6O.m, CB6O.Om and CBO5O.m series are compared.

Graphical abstract: Molecular curvature, specific intermolecular interactions and the twist-bend nematic phase: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)hexanes (CB6O.m)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Jan 2019
Accepted
11 Mar 2019
First published
11 Mar 2019

Soft Matter, 2019,15, 3188-3197

Molecular curvature, specific intermolecular interactions and the twist-bend nematic phase: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)hexanes (CB6O.m)

R. Walker, D. Pociecha, G. J. Strachan, J. M. D. Storey, E. Gorecka and C. T. Imrie, Soft Matter, 2019, 15, 3188 DOI: 10.1039/C9SM00026G

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