An achiral, anticlinic-promoting, smectic liquid crystal architecture
Abstract
We describe a simple, achiral, terminal chain that appears to readily convert the synclinic SmC phase to the anticlinic SmCA phase. If the α-carbon of a terminal chain is di-substituted, i.e., if either 1,1-dimethylpentyloxycarbonyl or 1,1-dimethylhexyloxycarbonyl is used instead of the usual chiral chain, 1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl, the terminal chain in the well known, antiferroelectric mesogen MHPOBC, an anticlinic SmCA phase is observed exclusively below the SmA phase. Moreover, the dimethyl-substituted terminal chain can induce the SmCA phase in very ordinary mesogens: