title: Ferroelectric-chiral-antiferroelectric-racemic liquid crystal phase transition of bent-shape molecules.
abstract: Detailed dielectric, polarization current, electro-optical, and textural observations are reported on an asymmetric banana-shaped compound 1,3-biphenylene-bis[4-(3-fluoro-4-octyloxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoate]. The material possesses a chiral-ferroelectric-racemic-antiferroelectric phase transition. Our studies reveal that the higher temperature ferroelectric phase has a polar double-tilted smectic structure, where both the molecular plane and the long axis are tilted with respect to the layer normal. Accordingly, it has a chiral triclinic structure with an out-of-plane polarization component. The lower temperature phase has a monoclinic symmetry, which is higher than that of the higher temperature phase. To our knowledge, among liquid crystals such situations were previously observed only in reentrant phases.
authors.affiliation: Techische Universitat Berlin, Stranski-Laboratorium für Physikalische unde Theoretische Chemie, Sekr. ER11, Strasse des 17 Juni 112, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rauch
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bault
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sawade
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heppke
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jákli