Ferroelectric liquid crystal incorporating the optically active γ-lactone ring

Ferroelectric liquid crystals incorporating an optically active γ-lactone ring were prepared. They show enantiotropic smectic C phases which have very large spontaneous polarizations as large as ∼590 nC/cm 2 (5.9 mC/m 2 ). The large spontaneous polarizations are attributed to the structural features wherein a dipole and two chiral centers are fixed in the γ-lactone ring