Heterocyclic reactive mesogens: synthesis, characterisation and mesomorphic behaviour

Novel heterocyclic and photopolymerizable liquid crystalline materials ( reactive mesogens) with smectic phases have been synthesized and characterized. A selection of heterocyclic rings, such as benzothiazole, benzothiadiazole and pyrimidine, has been incorporated into the aromatic core to control the electrochemical/luminescence properties and the structural geometry. Particular emphasis is focused on structure - property relationships, in which the variation of molecular structure and its subsequent effect on the liquid crystalline transition temperatures have been investigated.