Electro-optical properties of the nematic phase in V-shaped molecules with a 2,3-naphthalene central unit

So far there is little understanding of the physicochemical properties of the nematic phase of V-shaped bent-core liquid crystalline (VBLC) molecules. We have synthesized VBLC molecules based on a 2,3-naphthalene central unit, varying the carbon number of the flexible alkyl chains (n = 2, 6 or 12) to extend the nematic range. We examined the polar and biaxial properties of the nematic phases for two homologous molecules with n = 6 and 12.