| Abstract: | A liquid crystalline system consisting of cyclic penta(methylsiloxane) cores with biphenylyl 4-propoxybenzoate mesogens is studied with respect to its molecular conformation and the intermolecular ordering of pendant groups by employing molecular mechaincs calculations, while a molecular dynamics simulation indicates the degree of conformational flexibility. The calculated X-ray scattering patterns for these structures provide insight into the origin of the experimentally observed results. A good agreement is found between the calculated and experimental reflections data, supporting the ‘cylinder’ global topology as the basis for forming a ‘columnar’ structure. Further, a comparison of the calculated and experimental meriodional sections shows a strong similarity of both the meridional intensities and d-spacings. |
