Influence of the ester chain length on the mesogenic behavior and optical anisotropy of 4-[[4-(butoxy)phenyl]diazenyl]phenyl alkanoates

Abstract

In this manuscript, we report synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of 4-[[4-(butoxy)phenyl]diazenyl]phenyl alkanoates homologous series. For the first time, nineteen derivatives are described here. The enantiotropic nematic phase is typically observed among all members of this series. However, in the case of 4-[[4-(butoxy)phenyl]diazenyl]phenyl stearate, the nematic phase shows a monotropic character. In addition to liquid-crystalline polymorphism, a second crystalline form was observed in some homologs. Furthermore, using a photoelastic modulator, the optical anisotropy in the nematic phase was determined in the first nine compounds of this series. Temperature dependence of optical anisotropy at significantly lower values of reduced temperature is relatively weak. In contrast, optical anisotropy shows a strong temperature effect near isotropization. Moreover, the influence of the ester chain elongation on liquid crystalline and optical properties was established.

Keywords:

• liquid crystals
• azobenzene
• DSC
• optical anisotropy
• birefringence

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr J. Zienkiewicz for the critical reading of this manuscript and many comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland [2014/15/B/ST8/00115].