title: The first example of a liquid crystalline side-chain polymer with bent-core mesogenic units: ferroelectric switching and spontaneous achiral symmetry breaking in an achiral polymer.
abstract: A dimethylsiloxane diluted polysiloxane side chain co-polymer with non-chiral banana-shaped mesogenic units shows an optically isotropic ferroelectric switching polar smectic C phase (SmCPF) consisting of a conglomerate of homogeneously chiral domains with opposite handedness.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes Str. 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.forename: R Amaranatha
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tschierske
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D033362:Powder Diffraction; D012833:Siloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D012833:Siloxanes