Banana-calamitic Dimers: Further Variations of the Bent-core Mesogenic Unit

Banana-calamitic dimers are a topic in the field of bent-core mesogens. New materials were prepared by chemical variations at the bent-core fragment that is by a cyano group terminally attached to the bent-core fragment, by lateral substitution with a chlorine atom and methyl group, respectively, and by increasing the number of phenyl rings from five to six. The bent-core and the calamitic mesogenic moieties are connected by aliphatic spacers of different length. The materials were investigated by optical microscopy, DSC, X-ray diffraction studies and electro-optical measurements. This way nematic, smectic and various types of polar columnar phases have been characterized. The low temperature phase in a sequence of two nematic phases exhibiting different properties can be classified as a nematic twist-bend phase. Such NTB phases are only formed if a bend exists along the molecular long axes. This prerequisite can be doubly achieved in banana-calamitic dimers: by the intrinsic bend of one of the mesogenic fragments and by an odd-numbered spacer.