Longer-Terminal-Chain-Sensitive Phase Structures in Mixtures and Nonsymmetric Molecules of Bent-Core Mesogens

Abstract

Odd–even behavior for the emergence of ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity has been examined in bent-core compounds containing two different chain lengths; i.e., 1:1 mixtures of neighboring homologues of symmetric bent-core mesogens and nonsymmetric pure compounds. The odd–even behavior was found to be very strictly held for longer terminal chains: longer terminal chains play an important role in determining the polar structure. Namely, the ferroelectric state emerges when the carbon number n of the longer chain is even, whereas the antiferroelectric state emerges for odd n.