Some studies on liquid crystals incorporating three membered linking units combined with 1,3 linked rings

From studies of molecular models, by the combination of more than one 'wrong' building unit (three membered linking units, 1,3-linked rings, 1,3-cis-saturated rings), molecules exhibiting close to linear conformations are feasible. Accordingly, a number of suitable substances have been synthesized. All of them exhibit a moderate to strong depression of clearing temperature. Surprisingly, the extent of the depression decreases with conformational mobility of the linking unit and is, in contrast to normally constructed liquid crystal molecules, not affected by the presence of lateral substituents in the terminal ring.