Abstract

In order to investigate polar order and chiral layer structures in bent-core mesogens, mixtures of synclinic antiferroelectric (achiral P-8-OPIMB) and anticlinic ferroelectric (chiral P-8-OPIMB6*) liquid crystals were studied. The binary phase diagram of these materials was produced based on detailed texture observations and measurements of the dielectric response and polarization-reversal current. A synclinic ferroelectric state is found to dominate in mixtures having 38% chiral content in 6 µm thick cells. This structure is a hybrid of the structures of the two parent materials taking the synclinic tilt from P-8-OPIMB and the ferroelectric polar order from P-8-OPIMB6*. Intermolecular steric interactions at the interface of adjacent smectic layers are thought to play a role in determining the ground state structure in the mixtures.