1A13 A NOVEL SMECTIC PHASE IN AN ACHIRAL W-SHAPED MOLECULE

Abstract

A novel smectic liquid crystalline phase exhibited by an achiral W-shaped molecule (Fig. 1) has been investigated. One of the characteristics is schlieren-like texture (Fig. 3) only with two-brush defects with fine stripes. Under uncrossed polarizers, chiral domains were clearly recognized. In the XRD measurement, a strong layer diffraction and multiple diffuse diffraction peaks at a wide-angle region were observed. These observations suggest that there exist not only simple layer periodicity but also additional sub-structure and chiral nature in the SmX phase. Based on these experimental observations, the possible structure of SmX phase will be discussed.