Abstract
Three homologous series of chiral swallow-tailed compounds, alkyl (S)-2-{6-[4-(4′-alkoxyphenyl)benzoyloxy]-2-naphthyl}propionates, (S)HNP(p,n,q) derived from (S)-2-(6-hydroxy-2-naphthyl)propionic acid in conjugation with a variety of swallow-tailed groups, attached to the external side of the chiral centre, have been synthesized and their mesomorphic and electro-optical properties studied. Both (S)HNP(p,1,2) and (S)HNP(p,1,3) exhibited an enantiotropic antiferroelectric SmC*A phase. This implys that the swallow-tailed groups in the molecules favour zigzag pairing of the molecules in the smectic phase. The maximum P S values of compounds (S)HNP(p,1,2) in the antiferroelectric phase were measured in the range 21–30 nC cm-2; those of compounds (S)HNP(p,1,3) were in the range 15–23 nC cm-2, indicating that these chiral compounds possess low polarity. The electro-optical response of the compounds in the antiferroelectric SmC*A phase displayed thresholdless V-shaped switching.
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