Nematic mesophases, enantiotropic

Following the idea of the first approach, monomers with the l,4-bis[(3 -flu-oro-4 -n-alkoxyphenyl)-ethynyl]benzene mesogens were laterally linked via a CH2-spacer to norbornene, XX-n (n= 1-12). The low molecular mesogens with n>6 showed a k-S -Sc-n-i phase sequence, whereas the norbornene monomers XX-n exhibited only a monotropic or enantiotropic nematic mesophase, respectively [72]. 

The homopolymer showed an enantiotropic nematic mesophase, whereas the diblock copolymer generated microphase-separated lamellae, in which the SCLCP block possessed a nematic-isotropization transition similar to the homopolymer (Table 17). Upon heating, the nematic microphase decreased continuously in the nematic phase from 38.5 nm to 27 nm and showed a constant value of about 26 nm after the nematic-isotropization transition. Therefore, materials in which these block copolymers are macroscopically aligned are expected to show reversible contraction in one dimension, making this polymer system an interesting candidates for an artificial muscle or actuator. 

The study by Percec, Tomazos and Willingham (15) looked at the influence of polymer backbone flexibility on the phase transition temperatures of side chain liquid crystalline polymethacrylate, polyacrylate, polymethylsiloxane and polyphosphazene containing a stilbene side chain. Upon cooling from the isotropic state, golymer IV displays a monotropic nematic mesophase between 106 and 64 C. In this study, the polymers with the more rigid backbones displayed enantiotropic liquid crystalline behavior, whereas the polymers with the flexible backbones, including the siloxane and the polyphosphazene, displayed monotropic nematic mesophases. The examples in this study demonstrated how kinetically controlled side chain crystallization influences the thermodynamically controlled mesomorphic phase through the flexibility of the polymer backbone. 

Complexes of salicylaldimato ligands have been well studied and provide a good system in which to examine the effects of lateral substitution. The parent, unsubstituted complexes (Figure 29 X = Y = Y = H) show enantiotropic nematic mesophases, with a phase range of 75°C being observed for alkyl chains... 

The more obvious choice for a model compound corresponds to exactly one repeat unit of the polymer. The a-ethoxy-m-(4-n-alkoxy-4 -cyanobiphenyl)s exhibit nematic mesophases at n=4-9 and SmA mesophases at n = 8-ll, and therefore match the thermotropic behavior of the polymer better than the vinyl ether monomer. However the SmA mesophase is enantiotropic only at n = 11, and the nematic mesophase is monotropic at all of these spacer lengths. Compounds which take into account only the mesogen and spacer are also good, if not better, models of the polymers. In contrast to the ethyl ethers, all of the SmA and most of the nematic mesophases are enantiotropic, which means that the melting temperature mimics the relative temperature of the glass transition of the polymer backbone better. However, the nematic mesophase still appears at n = 6 -11, and the SmA mesophase doen t appear at n = 5-7, 10, 11. 

When fluorine groups were introduced in the 2- and 3-positions of the terminal aromatic ring of the biphenyl unit ((48) M = Cu R = OC8Hn w=l) no columnar phase was observed, but a monotropic nematic phase instead, probably due to the reduction of the molecular symmetry When the lateral chain was elongated, the columnar phase disappeared at the expense of an enantiotropic nematic phase ((48) M = Cu R = OC H2 +i, n = 6, 8, 10-12, 14 and m = 2 n=l2, m = 3 and n = 4, 8, m = 4), which became monotropic ((48) M = Cu, R = OC H2 +i, n=l2,m = 4 n = 8, m = 8 and n=12, w = 12,). Furthermore, re-entrant (Section 7.9.3.2.5) nematic phases, between two crystalline phases, were also observed for the compounds in the series m = 2. Both the temperatures of the crystal-to-mesophase (163-219 °C) and mesophase-to-isotropic liquid (175-224 °C) decreased very rapidly with increasing m and n. The stability of the nematic mesophase was also found to depend on the bulkiness of the lateral chain. For instance, using a branched side group such as HMeEt did not suppress the monotropic phase but reduced the transition temperatures considerably. The cross-over between the Coh and the nematic phase would then correspond to a decrease of the lateral interactions between molecules due to the steric hindrance of the chains. 

A more systematic investigation of such structures was performed by Thomson et al. [65] who found that complexes, 25, with the rod-like structure A showed monotropic nematic mesophase of discotic type while those with the more disc-like molecule B show enantiotropic phases of calamitic type. 

The positional order of the molecules within the smectic layers disappears when the smectic B phase is heated to the smectic A phase. Likewise, the one-dimensional positional order of the smectic M phase is lost in the transition to the nematic phase. AH of the transitions given in this example are reversible upon heating and cooling they are therefore enantiotropic. When a given Hquid crystal phase can only be obtained by changing the temperature in one direction (ie, the mesophase occurs below the soHd to isotropic Hquid transition due to supercooling), then it is monotropic. An example of this is the smectic A phase of cholesteryl nonanoate [1182-66-7] (4), which occurs only if the chiral nematic phase is cooled (21). The transitions are aH reversible as long as crystals of the soHd phase do not form. 

The liquid crystal properties of the complexes were characterised using polarised optical microscopy and showed a nematic phase for n = 4 and 6 and a SmA phase for n = 6, 8, 10 and 12. The mesophases were monotropic for n = 4 and 6 and enantiotropic for the others the progression from a nematic phase for shorter chain lengths to SmA at longer chain lengths is quite typical for simple, polar mesogens. 

Apart from the parent compound 1 and its very simple alkyl derivatives, 1,3,4-oxadiazoles are solids. Solid oxadiazoles containing biphenyl or triphenyl substituents exhibit interesting properties upon heating. The symmetric 2,5-bisbiphenyl-4-yl-l,3,4-oxadiazole 38 melts into an isotropic phase showing small monotropic mesophase. By contrast, the asymmetric (hockey stick-shaped) mesogen 2-terphenyl-4-yl-5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole 39 exhibits a more stable enantiotropic liquid crystalline phase (a smectic phase as well as a nematic phase) <2001PCB8845>. 

The complexes bearing one chiral substituent display a smectic A mesophase when the non-chiral chain is long, or an enantiotropic cholesteric and a monotropic SmA phase for shorter alkoxy chains. A TGBA phase is observed for the derivative which contains the chiral isocyanide combined with the diethyloxy, when the SmA to cholesteric transition is studied. The compound with two chiral ligands shows a monotropic chiral nematic transition. When this compound is cooled very slowly from the isotropic liquid it exhibits blue phases BP-III, BP-II, and BP-I. 

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