Crystalline structure of a liquid crystal forming ligated twin

The solid state crystalline structure of a low molecular weight ligated dimer twin has been examined by TEM and x-ray diffraction methods. In this material each twin consists of a short, central rigid three phenylene ring segment, with short alkane tails attached at both ends; this is joined to its twin by a connecting methyl group. This was found to form a layered structure of period similar to35 Angstrom in which the molecule adopts an extended conformation wherein both the alkane tails and the rigid units form their own sub-layers, imparting a mosaic morphology to the system. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.