ABSTRACT
We report the induction of the Ntb phase over a wide temperature and concentration range in a binary system. This was achieved by addition of a flexible dopant without LC properties to a flexible dimer exhibiting only a nematic LC phase. The Ntb phase was identified by Polarising Optical Microscopy (POM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques.
Graphical Abstract
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Acknowledgments
CW, ZA and JH acknowledge the EPSRC project EP/M015726/1, the EPSRC NMSF is acknowledged for high-resolution mass spectrometry. ER acknowledges EU funding through the Erasmus+ programme. GHM thanks Prof. Claudio Zannoni for the many fruitful discussions on the nature of nematic phases over the course of several joint EU-funded projects.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Supplementary materials
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