1B12 Incommensurate Smectic A phase produced by a novel λ shaped liquid-crystalline molecule

Abstract

Novel λ shaped liquid-crystalline molecules possessing two phenylpyrimidine moieties and another functional group were prepared and the liquid-crystalline phase transition behavior were investigated. Introducing a cyanobiphenyl moiety as a functional group to the λ shaped molecule, smectic A-smectic A transition was observed by polarized optical light microscopy and DSC. From X-ray diffraction measurements the low temperature smectic A phase was found to be an incommensurate smectic A phase which had layer spacings 54.5Å, 39.8Å and 23.1Å.