A cyanobiphenyl derivative possessing a semiperfluorinated chain induces modulated smectic phases in the ternary system with rod-like nematic liquid crystals

Abstract

We prepared a ternary mixture of a cyanobiphenyl derivative possessing a semiperfluorinated alkyl chain (20 mol%), 4-butyloxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl (40 mol%), and 5-butyloxy-2-(4-octyloxyphenyl)pyrimidine (40 mol%). We then investigated the phase transition behavior using polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mixture was found to exhibit two modulated phases. Structure–property relationship in the amphiphilic compounds reveals that the modulated phases are induced by competition between an interdigitated structure stabilized by amphiphilic interactions and a monolayer structure by core–core interactions.