Study of the effect of hydrogen bonding on the phase behaviour of p-nitro azobenzene derivatives with hydrophilic tails

Abstract

The infrared spectra of N-n-(4-nitrophenyl)azophenyloxyalkyldiethanolamines (Cn) are examined in the range of 4000-400cm-1 at different temperatures and the assignment of the fundamental vibrations given. Based on (1) the localization of the broad absorption band at 3456cm-1, and (2) attribution of the associated OH bands centred at 1410-1390, 1100, and 650-634cm-1 to, respectively deltaOH deformation, nuC-O stretching and gammaOH out-of-plane bending, intermolecular hydrogen bonding between OH groups in the crystalline, liquid crystalline and isotropic states is proposed. By considering the results of FTIR, WAXD and DSC measurements, the molecular arrangment of C10 in its smectic A phase as consisting of hydrogen bonding and strong interaction between dipolar groups (NO2) is proposed. This may explain the high stability and high orientational ordering property of Cn compounds in the liquid crystalline state compared with that of n-bromo-1-[4-(4-nitrophenyl)azophenyl] oxyalkanes (Bn).