The effect of fluorine or chlorine substitution on mesomorphic properties of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals

Marta Lavrič, in collaboration with a group from Prague (M. Cigl, N. Podoliak, D. Repček, P. Golub and V. Novotna), has published an article entitled “The effect of fluorine or chlorine substitution on mesomorphic properties of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals” in Materials Advances.

Ferroelectric nematic phase (NF) represents an attractive and rapidly developing area of liquid crystals, combining fluidity with ferroelectricity. NF materials exhibit large polarization values and remarkable non-linear optical properties. In this article an original molecular structure, non-substituted and with halogen substituents in the position of an electron donating group was designed, taking into consideration that application of Cl atom has been utilized for the first time in the design of ferroelectric nematogens. For homologues with a prolonged molecular core, we observed the ferroelectric nematic phase (NF) below the nematic one during the cooling process. Moreover, for non-substituted homologue, the NF phase is enantiotropic in a broad temperature range. The presented results provide valuable insight into the design of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline compounds.

DOI: 10.1039/D6MA00129G