1A14 Odd-Even Behavior on the Appearance of Ferro- and Antiferroelectric B2 Phase in Chiral Bent-Core Mesogens

Abstract

We synthesized two chiral bent-core mesogens (P (n+2) -O-PIMBn^*, n=4, 5) in addition to P8-O-PIMB6^* (n=6), that is known to exhibit a stable ferroelectric phase, and studied their phase structures in order to clarify the effect of the interlayer steric interaction on the emergence of ferroelectric (F) and antiferroelectric (AF) ordering. By means of POM observation and SHG investigation, we confirmed that these materials have ferroelectric nature for n=4, 6 and antiferroelectric one for n=5 in the B2 phase, demonstrationg the existense of odd-even effect on the appearance of the polar structures (FE or AFE).