The design and investigation of the self-assembly of dimers with two nematic phases

Abstract

A series of non-symmetric dimers were synthesised containing either cyanobiphenyl or difluoroterphenyl moieties on one side and a range of long, short, bent, polar or apolar mesogens on the other side of the molecules. The dielectric anisotropy of the mesogens was varied systematically. The systems were characterised by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical polarizing microscopy (OPM) and detailed X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, both in the nematic and the N_x phase. The results are compared and structure–property relationships are discussed. A model for the assembly in the N_x phase is developed discussing N_tb structures, coaxial helices, swiss roll structures and chiral domain formation.