Effects of lateral substituents in cubic liquid crystalline compounds with nonsymmetric π-electron conjugated systems on phase formation and packing structure.

Abstract

Our starting compound was a nonsymmetric core molecule with benzene (B) and phenylbenzene (PB) at each side of the central group and having docosyloxy chains, denoted as BPB-22, and we introduced a methyl group to the side of the molecular core of BPB-22. As an effect of the side group, we found that the Ia3d-Cub phase was shifted to the lower temperature side as compared to the BPB-22 without a methyl group. We also investigated the aggregation structure of the molecular cores in Ia3d-Cub phase and revealed that the position of the methyl group in the core portion influences the packing structure of the molecular cores (double- or single-layered core states).