Heliconical nematic and smectic phases: the synthesis and characterisation of the CB4O.m and CB8O.m series

References

• Imrie CT, Henderson PA. Liquid crystal dimers and higher oligomers: between monomers and polymers. Chem Soc Rev. 2007;36(12):2096–2124. doi: 10.1039/b714102e
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Imrie CT, Walker R, Storey JMD, et al. Liquid crystal dimers and smectic phases from the intercalated to the twist-bend. Crystals. 2022;12(9):1245. doi: 10.3390/cryst12091245
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Meyer RB. Les Houches summer school in theoretical physics. In: Balian RG, Weil G, editors. New York (NY): Gordon and Breach; 1976. p. 273–373.
   Google Scholar
• Dozov I. On the spontaneous symmetry breaking in the mesophases of achiral banana-shaped molecules. Europhys Lett. 2001;56(2):247–253. doi: 10.1209/epl/i2001-00513-x
   Google Scholar
• Cestari M, Diez-Berart S, Dunmur DA, et al. Phase behavior and properties of the liquid-crystal dimer 1′′,7′′-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl) heptane: a twist-bend nematic liquid crystal. Phys Rev E. 2011;84:031704. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.031704
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Borshch V, Kim YK, Xiang J, et al. Nematic twist-bend phase with nanoscale modulation of molecular orientation. Nat Commun. 2012;4:2635. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3635
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chen D, Porada JH, Hooper JB, et al. Chiral heliconical ground state of nanoscale pitch in a nematic liquid crystal of achiral molecular dimers. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110:15931–15936. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1314654110
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Archbold CT, Davis EJ, Mandle RJ, et al. Chiral dopants and the twist-bend nematic phase-induction of novel mesomorphic behaviour in an apolar bimesogen. Soft Matter. 2015;11:7547–7557. doi: 10.1039/C5SM01935D
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walker R, Storey JMD, Imrie CT, et al. The chiral twist-bend nematic phase (N*TB). Chem A Eur J. 2019;25:13329–13335. doi: 10.1002/chem.201903014
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walker R, Pociecha D, Salamonczyk M, et al. Intrinsically chiral twist-bend Nematogens: interplay of molecular and structural chirality in the NTB phase. Chemphyschem. 2023;24(6):e202200807. doi: 10.1002/cphc.202200807
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mandle RJ. A Ten-year perspective on twist-bend nematic materials. Molecules. 2022;27(9):2689. doi: 10.3390/molecules27092689
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walker R. The twist-bend phases: structure–property relationships, chirality and hydrogen-bonding. Liq Cryst Today. 2020;29(1):2–14. doi: 10.1080/1358314X.2020.1771841
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tufaha N, Gibb CJ, Storey JMD, et al. Can even-membered liquid crystal dimers exhibit the twist-bend nematic phase? The preparation and properties of disulphide and thioether linked dimers. Liq Cryst. 2023;50(7–10):1362–1374. doi: 10.1080/02678292.2023.2242824
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Abberley JP, Killah R, Walker R, et al. Heliconical smectic phases formed by achiral molecules. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):228. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02626-6
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Salamończyk M, Vaupotič N, Pociecha D, et al. Multi-level chirality in liquid crystals formed by achiral molecules. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1):1922. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09862-y
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Alshammari AF, Pociecha D, Walker R, et al. New patterns of twist-bend liquid crystal phase behaviour: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-10-(4-alkylaniline-benzylidene-4′-oxy)decanes (CB10O·m). Soft Matter. 2022;18(25):4679–4688. doi: 10.1039/D2SM00162D
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pociecha D, Vaupotič N, Majewska M, et al. Photonic bandgap in achiral liquid crystals—A twist on a twist. Adv Mater. 2021;33(39):2103288. doi: 10.1002/adma.202103288
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cruickshank E, Walker R, Strachan GJ, et al. The influence of the imine bond direction on the phase behaviour of symmetric and non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers. J Mol Liq. 2023;391:123226. doi: 10.1016/j.molliq.2023.123226
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walker R, Pociecha D, Strachan GJ, et al. Molecular curvature, specific intermolecular interactions and the twist-bend nematic phase: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)hexanes (CB6O.m). Soft Matter. 2019;15(15):3188–3197. doi: 10.1039/C9SM00026G
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Imrie CT. Non‐symmetric liquid crystal dimers: how to make molecules intercalate. Liq Cryst. 2006;33(11–12):1449–1485. doi: 10.1080/02678290601140498
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Forsyth E, Paterson DA, Cruickshank E, et al. Liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase: on the role of spacers and terminal alkyl chains. J Mol Liq. 2020;320:114391. doi: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.114391
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Paterson DA, Abberley JP, Harrison WTA, et al. Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase. Liq Cryst. 2017;44:127–146. doi: 10.1080/02678292.2016.1274293
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Paterson DA, Walker R, Storey JMD, et al. Molecular structure and the twist-bend nematic phase: the role of spacer length in liquid crystal dimers. Liq Cryst. 2023;50(4):725–736. doi: 10.1080/02678292.2023.2198505
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gibb CJ, Storey JMD, Imrie CT. A convenient one-pot synthesis, and characterisation of the ω-bromo-1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4’-yl) alkanes (CBnBr). Liq Cryst. 2022;49(12):1706–1716. doi: 10.1080/02678292.2022.2084568
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Peshkov RY, Panteleeva EV, Chunyan W, et al. One-pot synthesis of 4′-alkyl-4-cyanobiaryls on the basis of the terephthalonitrile dianion and neutral aromatic nitrile cross-coupling. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2016;12:1577–1584. doi: 10.3762/bjoc.12.153
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pociecha D, Crawford CA, Paterson DA, et al. Critical behavior of the optical birefringence at the nematic to twist-bend nematic phase transition. Phys Rev E. 2018;98:052706. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.98.052706
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Walker R, Pociecha D, Faidutti C, et al. Remarkable stabilisation of the intercalated smectic phases of nonsymmetric dimers by tert-butyl groups. Liq Cryst. 2022;49(7–9):969–981. doi: 10.1080/02678292.2022.2055797
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Blatch AE, Fletcher ID, Luckhurst GR. The intercalated smectic a phase. The liquid crystal properties of the α-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-ω)-(4-alkyloxycinnamoate)alkanes. Liq Cryst. 1995;18(5):801–809. doi: 10.1080/02678299508036693
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Attard GS, Date RW, Imrie CT, et al. Non-symmetric dimeric liquid crystals the preparation and properties of the α-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-ω-(4-n-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)alkanes. Liq Cryst. 1994;16(4):529–581. doi: 10.1080/02678299408036531
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cestari M, Frezza E, Ferrarini A, et al. Crucial role of molecular curvature for the bend elastic and flexoelectric properties of liquid crystals: mesogenic dimers as a case study. J Mater Chem. 2011;21(33):12303–12308. doi: 10.1039/c1jm12233a
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Le Masurier PJ, Luckhurst GR. On the molecular organisation in the intercalated smectic a phases formed by the non-symmetric α-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-ω-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)alkane dimers. Chem Phys Lett. 1998;287(3–4):435–441. doi: 10.1016/S0009-2614(97)01464-4
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar