A room-temperature discotic nematic liquid crystal

Abstract

Attaching branched alkyl chains directly to the phenyl ring of substituent R in hexaalkynylbenzene (see picture) proved to be the key in the synthesis of the first room-temperature discotic nematic liquid crystals. A liquid crystal device having discotic nematic liquid crystals shows advantages over conventional devices with calamitic nematic liquid crystals in that it has a wide and symmetrical viewing angle and no reversal of the contrast ratio in any direction.