Structure of a B6-like phase formed from bent-core liquid crystals determined by microbeam x-ray diffraction.
We studied the structure of the Bx phase formed from the short terminal homolog, 1,3-(4-bromobenzene) bis[4-(4-n-butoxyphenylliminomethyl)benzoate] (4Br-P-4-O-PIMB), by focusing a microbeam of x ray on the well-developed fan-shaped texture. From the highly oriented x-ray patterns detected at the two states of DC-ON and DC-OFF, the Bx structure was definitely illustrated. It is a kind of frustrated one similar to the B1 phase: the molecules lie perpendicularly to the layer, and the frustration takes place perpendicularly to the bent direction. Unlike in the B1 phase, however, the size of the resulting antidomain is not definite, but fluctuates from position to position as observed in the B6 phase.
Kang
Sungmin
S
Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
Tokita
Masatoshi
M
Takanishi
Yoichi
Y
Takezoe
Hideo
H
Watanabe
Junji
J