Reinvestigation of liquid crystalline property of dimesogenic compound consisting of cholesterol and cyanobiphenyl

The dimesogenic compound consisting of cholesterol and cyanobiphenyl mesogens interlinked by omega-oxyalkanoyl spacer was synthesized. The mesomorphic properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results indicated that this compound exhibited mesophase over a much wider temperature range and a new mesophase blue phase (BP). Focal conic domains (FCDs) and droplets texture to the smectic A phase (S-A), oily streaks typical to the chiral nematic (N*) phase were found in the liquid crystalline state, respectively. Besides, it exhibited a smectic layer spacing about 1.0 time to the length of the molecule, which indicated a monolayer type Of SA ordering. (C) 2009 Hai Quan Zhang. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.