Stereoselective Synthesis of Optically Active Di- and Trisubstituted Oxetanones as Chiral Dopants to Induce Ferroelectricity in Liquid Crystals

Optically active 3-hydroxybutyric and 3-hydroxyhexanoic acids were transformed into 3,4-disubstituted and 3,3,4-trisubstituted 2-oxetanones using two different approaches. Diastereoselective alkylation was performed either on dioxanone enolates or on lithoxy-lithium enolates. Some recently published unexpected results of alkylation of substituted dioxanones were used for the synthesis of a trisubstituted oxetanone

Ferroelectric liquid-crystalline side group polymers - spacer length variation and comparison with the monomers

The phase behaviour and the ferroelectric properties of liquid-crystalline side group polyacrylates containing an (R)-4''(1-methylheptyloxy)-4'-biphenylyloxycarbonyl-4-phenoxy moiety are compared with the properties of their monomers. A S*C phase polymorphism including monolayer and bilayer structures was found for the polymers. Some of the S*C subphases, consisting of smectic mono- or bi-layers, do not exhibit ferroelectric properties. These unusual properties do not exist for the corresponding monomeric acrylates. Therefore, one has to take into account that the polymer chain exerts a strong influence on the phase behaviour and the ferroelectric properties

Electrooptical investigation on the three switching states of a chiral smectic side group polymer

Electrooptical properties of a polyacrylate with 1,3-dioxolane-4-carboxylic acid as chiral building block terminally attached to phenylpyridine mesogenic moiety and linked via a C11 spacer were studied. Results showed that the formation of 3 switching states for the polymer occurred upon conformational interactions between the side groups and the main chain

Tilt order parameters, polarity and inversion phenomena in smectic liquid crystals

The order parameters for the phenomenological description of the smectic-{\it A} to smectic-{\it C} phase transition are formulated on the basis of molecular symmetry and structure. It is shown that, unless the long molecular axis is an axis of two-fold or higher rotational symmetry, the ordering of the molecules in the smectic-{\it C} phase gives rise to more than one tilt order parameter and to one or more polar order parameters. The latter describe the indigenous polarity of the smectic-{\it C} phase, which is not related to molecular chirality but underlies the appearance of spontaneous polarisation in chiral smectics. A phenomenological theory of the phase transition is formulated by means of a Landau expansion in two tilt order parameters (primary and secondary) and an indigenous polarity order parameter. The coupling among these order parameters determines the possibility of sign inversions in the temperature dependence of the spontaneous polarisation and of the helical pitch observed experimentally for some chiral smectic-{\it $C^{\ast}$} materials. The molecular interpretation of the inversion phenomena is examined in the light of the new formulation.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, RevTe