A room-temperature columnar liquid crystal phase by urea compound possessing branched alkyl chains

Abstract

Ferroelectric columnar liquid crystals (FCLCs) are promising materials for non-linear optics, actuators, and sensors. Though organic FCLCs have been realized by adjusting molecular shapes and hydrogen bond strength, in many cases, they are achieved at higher temperatures (> 100 °C) because strong intermolecular interaction inhibits switching of molecular dipole directions. Our group previously reported FCLC urea compounds possessing branched alkyl chains, and it was found that introducing branched alkyl chains is effective for polarization maintenance and lowering LC temperature. In this study, we present an unprecedented room-temperature FCLC achieved by a urea compound with longer branched alkyl chains. Further, we considered a constructive molecular design to realize FCLCs by molecular kinetics analysis.