Study the effects of terminal side chain and –nitro group on mesomorphic behaviour of cinnamate-chalconyl based liquid crystal.

The influence of the terminal side chain and lateral nitro on mesomorphism due to the flexibility and polarity of lateral group is investigated. A new homologues series is synthesized to accomplish this aim. The C1to C3homologue are nonmesomorphic, while the rest of the homologues exhibit enantiotropic nematic and smectic properties. The texture of the nematic mesophase is of threaded, Schlieren and droplets type. All these compounds were characterized by elemental analyses and spectroscopic techniques of FTIR and1H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The phase behaviour was studied by polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]