Effect of molecular structure on the phase behaviour of some liquid crystalline compounds and their mixtures XIV. Binary mixtures of 4-(4-substituted phenylazo) phenyl-4-alkoxybenzoates

Binary mixtures formed from components of the five homologous series of the 4-(4-substituted phenylazo)phenyl-4-alkoxybenzoates Ia-e were prepared and their mesophase behaviour characterized. Transition temperatures of the mixtures prepared were measured by differential scanning calorimetry and identified by polarizing optical microscopy. Each binary combination was made from components bearing a terminal alkoxy group with the same number of carbon atoms (kept constant at n = 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16), while the other substituent (X) was different—CH₃O, CH₃, Cl, NO₂, or CN. Phase diagrams were constructed for the various systems in order to investigate the effect of the terminal substituent X, as well as of the alkoxy chain length, on the phase behaviour of mixed systems.