Induction of chiral phases in originally achiral hydrogen-bonded dimer liquid crystals

ABSTRACTWe investigated the seventh homologues of the hydrogen bonded in dimers liquid crystals p,n alkyloxybenzoic acids (7OBA), which in its pristine state displays achiral nematic (N) and smectic C (SC) states. The mixture of this liquid crystal with nanoparticles, expressing various shapes and sizes, where the liquid crystal serves as a matrix, introduces new optical and electrooptical properties of the composite material. We concentrated on the mixture 7OBA with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), which exposes a set of chiral and ferroelectric states, including the unique one (smectic CG) state, which do not appear in the pristine achiral 7OBA. On the base of polarization microtextural, thermal and polarization spectroscopic (FT far infra red-FT FIR and microRaman) analyses we present a qualitative model of the smectic CG state in low-molecular dimeric liquid crystals.