The crystal and molecular structure of the Nematogenic Compound 5,8-Dihydro-5,8-methano-1,4-naphthalenediyl Bis(4-ethoxybenzoate)

Single crystals of the title compound with the formula (C₂H₅O C₆H₄ COO)₂C₁₁H₈ have been investigated by X-ray analysis. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/n with a = 8.555(1), b = 15.280(2), c = 19.093(3) Å, β = 94.17(1)⁰, V = 2489.2(5) ų, and Z = 4. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined to a final R value of 0.062 The molecule adopts an almost stretched form. The norbornene skeleton within the central part of the molecule is disordered and occurs in two different conformations. The molecular packing is characterized by different lattice regions: the molecules in one region are parallel but their long axes are inclined by 49.5° to the molecules of the other region.