Molecular engineering of high-birefringence liquid crystals

Abstract

Several linearly conjugated isothiocyanato (NCS) tolanes, biphenyl-tolanes and bistolanes were synthesized and their properties evaluated. Eutectic mixtures compromising these compounds were formulated. The temperature dependent birefringence, visco-elastic coefficient and figure-of-merit were measured. These isothiocyanato tolane mixtures exhibit a favorably high figure of merit at elevated temperatures. Potential applications of these mixtures for laser beam steering, tunable-focus lens and telecom variable optical attenuator are emphasized.