Chalcogen bonding and liquid crystallinity: Understanding the anomalous behaviour of the 4′-(alkylthio)[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-carbonitriles (nSCB)

Ewan Cruickshank, Grant J. Strachan, John MD Storey, Corrie T. Imrie*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The synthesis and characterisation of the first eleven members of the 4′-(alkylthio)[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-carbonitriles series is reported. All eleven members show monotropic liquid crystal behaviour. The first six members are exclusively nematogenic, the seventh member shows nematic and smectic A phases, and the higher homologues only smectic A behaviour. A comparison of their transitional behaviour with that of the corresponding alkyl and alkyloxy-cyanobiphenyls reveals a new pattern of behaviour. Specifically, the nematic-isotropic transition temperatures show a large decrease on passing from the methylthio to ethylthio homologues. This unexpected behaviour is interpreted in terms of chalcogen bonding.

Original languageEnglish
Article number117094
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of molecular liquids
Volume346
Early online date28 Jul 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgement
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Keywords

  • 4-(Alkylthio)[1,1-biphenyl]-4-carbonitriles
  • Alkylthio
  • Chalcogen bonding
  • Nematic phase
  • Smectic A phase

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