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Abstract
The polarizability and shape anisotropics of a new class of aliphatic liquid crystals, 4,4′-di-n-alkyl-bibicyclo[2.2.2]octanes (n, n-BBCO) have been calculated as a function of the alkyl chain length and its degree of flexibility to inquire about the relative importance of attractive and repulsive interactions in stabilizing the liquid crystalline phase. The calculated polarizability anisotropics are found to be much smaller than that of conventional mesogens. In the context of the Maier-Saupe theory, this indicates that anisotropic dispersion interactions make only a minor contribution to the stability of this class of liquid crystals. The cylindrical symmetry exhibited by the n, n-BBCO homologues and their rigid molecular structure suggest that they might be ideally suited for critical testing of existing theories of the nematic-isotropic phase transition.