Effect of polymerization on the stability of antiferroelectric liquid-crystalline phases: liquid-crystalline properties of some chiral acrylates and their corresponding polyacrylates

Abstract

A number of chiral (R)-1-alkylalkyl 4′-[4-(ω-acryloyloxyalkoxy)benzoyloxy]biphenyl-4-carboxylates have been prepared and their liquid-crystalline properties investigated. These materials were found to exhibit ferroelectric, antiferroelectric, and ferrielectric properties in their chiral smectic C phases. The results obtained for these materials were found to be similar to those for the (S)- and (R)-1-alkylalkyl 4′-(4-n-alkoxybenzoyloxy)biphenyl-4-carboxylates. Upon polymerization, however, the antiferroelectric phase was found to be stabilized over the ferroelectric and ferrielectric phases, to such a degree that the polymers simply exhibited smectic A to antiferroelectric phase transitions. In this work we contrast and compare the synthesis, characterization and physical properties of the monomeric and polymeric materials.