Several new hockey stick-shaped azo compounds are designed and synthesised with an aim to study the effect of different types of linkages and their direction of linking on the mesomorphic properties in such systems. The new compounds synthesised are characterised by spectroscopic methods. The liquid crystalline properties are investigated using polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. They exhibited a variety of mesophases such as nematic (N), smectic A (SmA), anticlinic smectic C (SmC a ), B 1 , etc. We found that the direction of linkage groups has a major effect on the mesomorphic properties when compared to the effect of different types of linkage groups. We observed a reversible photoswitching phenomenon of these compounds in their solution UV-vis spectra.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Photochromic liquid crystalline dimers that form smectic nanoclusters in nematic mesophases and are capable of forming organogels have been reported.