In 2004, liquid crystals containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazole-based bent-core core were found to exhibit the unique biaxial nematic phase, but the phase transition temperatures were too high for practical usage. This phase is of great interest because it may allow for faster electro-optic switching than in traditional liquid crystal displays. Since the discovery of the biaxial nematic phase in 2004, efforts have been made to lower the phase transition temperatures of these oxadiazole-based compounds as the nematic phase in the original compounds was only observed at temperatures too high for practical use. The incorporation of lateral groups (methyl or halogen) in this class of compounds has led to lower phase transition temperatures. Our aim is to investigate more complex, unsymmetrical substitution with lateral groups as this could lead to even lower transition temperatures. Current synthetic methods are challenging, time-intensive and make it difficult to produce pure target compounds in reasonable quantities. In this presentation our synthetic efforts and the phase behavior of the target compounds will be discussed.

Exploring new unsymmetrically substituted oxadiazole-based liquid crystals: Optimization of the synthetic approach and phase behavior

255th National Meeting (2018)

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