Abstract

The synthesis and phase characterization of three homologous series of liquid crystalline acrylic and methacrylic monomers, consisting of 21 new compounds are presented. They are based on ?-hexyloxy- and ?-undecyloxysalicylaldimine groups with different alkoxy tail substitutions. The liquid crystalline materials were characterized by polarizing optical microscopy and differential thermal analysis. Smectic A and tilted smectic C phases were observed in the compounds. Near the transition to the isotropic, a narrow nematic phase, coexisting with the smectic A phase, was detected for the pentyloxy and hexyloxy derivatives in the M11 and A11 series. In case of M11R11 and M11R12 only a tilted smectic C phase was detected. The clearing point was comparable for all series, around 100°C.