Synthesis and Liquid Crystalline Properties of New Chiral Monomers and Polysiloxanes

Abstract

To study the structure-property relationships of new chiral liquid crystalline materials based on menthol and explore their potential applications, a monomer 4-(4-allyloxybenzoyloxy) phenyl-4-menthyl-oxyacetyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate (LCM) and the corresponding homopolymer (LCP) were synthesized. The chemical structure was characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR. The liquid crystalline properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, polarizing optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The monomer LCM formed a cholesteric phase when a flexible linkage chain was inserted between the mesogenic core and the terminal menthyl groups by reducing the steric effect. The homopolymer LCP exhibited a batonnet texture of a smectic A phase.