Abstract
Four series of high birefringence bistolane liquid crystals containing isothiocyanato termal groups were synthesized and characterized. As well as the phenyl group, both biphenyl and naphthyl moieties were introduced to enhance the birefringence. These bistolane compounds exhibit reasonably low melting points and high birefringence of 0.5–0.8. A eutectic mixture was formulated from these compounds exhibiting a wide nematic range, high figure‐of‐merit and low viscosity.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the National Science Council (NSC) of the Republic of China (NSC 94‐2216‐E‐009‐001) for financial support of this research.