Abstract
Symmetrical liquid crystalline dimers have been synthesised, composed of rod-like mesogenic units with polar groups and a siloxane core of varying length in the central region. All the dimers containing siloxane units have been shown to exhibit a smectic A phase, confirmed by polarising optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Rheological properties under an applied electric field were investigated by rotational rheometer. The influence of the siloxane core length on rheological properties has been investigated, and in addition the behaviour of the liquid crystalline dimers in the smectic A phase under an applied electric field has been observed by POM.
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