Manoj Kumar Paul

We report here the synthesis and thermotropic properties of novel short-core hockey stick-shaped liquid crystalline molecules based on the 1,3,4-thiadiazole core. Polar switching behavior is observed in the cybotactic nematic and smectic mesophases for the bent-core thiadiazole derivatives. The presence of the lateral methoxy moiety in the outer phenyl ring of the four-ring molecules facilitates the formation of spontaneous ordering in the nematic phase observed via X-ray diffraction measurements. Anomalous temperature dependence of spontaneous polarization on cooling is explained by the possible antiferroelectric packing of the molecules that require higher electric field for switching. The compounds exhibited a strong absorption band at ∼356 nm and a blue emission band at ∼445 nm with a good quantum yield of φ_f ∼0.39. The mega Stokes shift is observed and depends on the nature of the solvent.

New hockey stick mesogens derived from 1,3,4-oxadiazole as a bent-core unit have been synthesised. The molecules resemble hockey stick shape due to the presence of two arms containing a different number of phenyl rings attached with the 1,3,4-oxadiazole bending unit. The shorter arm of the molecule consists of one phenyl ring and 4-n-alkyloxy terminal chains whereas the long arm of the molecule possesses containing two phenyl rings which are linked via imine linkage and reactive 4-n-undecenyloxy as a terminal chain. The thermal stabilities of the newly synthesised compounds were carried out by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The mesomorphic behaviour was investigated by polarising optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All the compounds exhibit enantiotropic nematic phase along with smectic phases (SmA and SmC phases). Interestingly, the compounds with lower 4-n-alkyloxy terminal chains (n = 4 and 6) exhibit a wide range of optically isotropic DC phase. On increasing, the terminal 4-n-alkoxy chain length the DC phase disappears. The photophysical properties of the compounds were investigated in different solvents and in the solid state. It was observed that the compound exhibit absorption in UV region and emission in the green region.

New hockey-stick-shaped 2,5-diphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-containing mesogens have been designed and synthesised. These molecules possess 4-n-alkoxy chain at the elongated arm whereas and 4-n-butyloxy chain at the shorter arm of the molecule. The compounds are fluorescent and emission located in the violet to blue region with a large stoke shift observed in polar solvents. No substantial solvatochromic effect was found in the absorption maxima, but in the emission, a red shift was observed with increasing the solvent polarity. In the solid thin film, compounds emitted green light. The compounds having longer chain (n > 8) exhibit SmA and SmC phase, while the compounds with shorter chain at one end of the molecule display nematic and SmC phase. The density functional theory study has been carried out to investigate the stable configuration and the influence of solvent on bond length, bond angle, bending angle, dipole moment, polarisability of the molecule. It also enables us to predict the possible reactive sites and effect of solvent on the chemical reactivity descriptors. Our study concludes that the molecule becomes more reactive in solvent compared to gas. The large voltage holding ratio confirms that this molecule may be used for active matrix display applications.