Enhancement of flexoelastic ratio of nematic liquid crystal doped with hydrogen-bonded bimesogen molecules

Abstract We synthesized a new liquid crystal (LC) dopant 4-[7-(4′-Cyanobiphenyl-4-yl)hexyloxy]bezoic acid (CBO7OBA) which can form dimers by hydrogen-bonding. We mixed the hydrogen-bondable CBO7OBA dopants with commercial nematic liquid crystal (NLC) mixtures and investigated the change of the flexoelastic ratio of the mixture. The flexoelastic ratio of the CBO7OBA-doped NLC mixture was increased up to 4.7 C/Nm, while that of the pure NLC was 2.0 C/Nm at room temperature. The greater flexoelastic ratio of the CBO7OBA-doped NLC mixture is thought to be due to the bent-shape and the large dipole moment of the CBO7OBA molecules.