New Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal with Large Spontaneous Polarization

Abstract

We report the preparation of new ferroelectric liquid crystals, 4-(2-methylalkanoyl)phenyl 4'-alkyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylates, and the measurements of their physical properties. The dependence of the magnitude of the spontaneous polarization on the alkyl chain length is observed. 4-(2-Methyloctanoyl)phenyl 4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate shows extremely large spontaneous polarization, 293 nC/cm 2 (at 62°C) and 403 nC/cm 2 (at 39°C).