On the balance between syn- and anticlinicity in smectic phases formed by achiral hockey-stick mesogens with and without chiral dopants
作者:Eva Enz、Sonja Findeisen-Tandel、Roman Dabrowski、Frank Giesselmann、Wolfgang Weissflog、Ute Baumeister、Jan Lagerwall
DOI:10.1039/b820717h
日期:——
A series of achiral hockey-stick-shaped mesogens forming tilted smectic liquid crystal phases of synclinic SmC- as well as anticlinic SmCa-type was prepared and characterized. While all homologues exhibit both phases, the balance shifts from anticlinic to synclinic order upon elongation of the terminal chain at the meta- position, defining the hockey-stick shape. The elongation also leads to an increased kinetic hindrance of the transition between syn- and anticlinic phases and a decreased transition enthalpy. These observations indicate that a well-defined kink (short meta-substituted chain) promotes the anticlinic structure while a higher flexibility between kinked and rod-shape (long meta-substituted chain) promotes synclinic order. An intermediate chain-length homologue was selected as host material for doping with syn- and anticlinic rod-shaped chiral dopants, respectively, at varying concentrations. Opposite of what might be expected the balance between syn- and anticlinic order was not simply dictated by the choice of dopant. Instead, both types of tilting order prevailed with roughly the same strength as in the achiral host regardless of which chiral material was added, up to concentrations well beyond normal doping conditions. Thus, at least with hockey-stick-shaped achiral hosts, syn- as well as anticlinic chiral compounds can be used effectively as chiral dopants without necessarily having an important impact on the clinicity of the resulting mixture. The hockey-stick design concept should be useful in producing achiral anticlinic-forming mesogens for low-polarization, long-pitch antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures. Finally, we point out that a mixture study like the one carried out here yields a conclusive means of establishing the clinicity of achiral tilted smectics, an endeavour that can sometimes be far from trivial.
制备并表征了一系列非手性曲棍球棒状介晶,形成向斜 SmC 型和背斜 SmCa 型倾斜近晶液晶相。虽然所有同系物都表现出两个相,但在间位末端链伸长时,平衡从背斜顺序转变为向斜顺序,从而定义了曲棍球棒形状。伸长还导致顺斜相和背斜相之间转变的动力学阻碍增加以及转变焓降低。这些观察结果表明,明确的扭结(短间位取代链)促进了背斜结构,而扭结和棒状(长间位取代链)之间更高的灵活性促进了向斜有序。选择中间链长同系物作为主体材料,分别以不同浓度掺杂顺斜棒状手性掺杂剂和背斜棒状手性掺杂剂。与预期相反,顺斜序和背斜序之间的平衡并不简单地由掺杂剂的选择决定。相反,无论添加哪种手性材料,两种类型的倾斜顺序都以与非手性主体大致相同的强度为主,浓度远远超出正常掺杂条件。因此,至少对于曲棍球棒形状的非手性主体,顺斜和反斜手性化合物可以有效地用作手性掺杂剂,而不必对所得混合物的临床性产生重要影响。曲棍球棒设计概念应该可用于生产低偏振、长螺距反铁电液晶混合物的非手性反斜形成介晶。最后,我们指出,像这里进行的混合研究提供了一种确定非手性倾斜近晶临床性的决定性方法,这一努力有时可能绝非微不足道。