Title

Synthesis and characterization of thermotropic liquid-crystalline properties of azomethine dimmers

Publication Title

Liquid Crystals

Publication Date

2009

Document Type

Article

DOI

10.1080/02678290903229585

Keywords

azomethine dimers, synthesis, thermotropic, liquid-crystalline phase, nematic, Schlieren texture

Disciplines

Physics

Abstract

A series of azomethine dimers were prepared by condensation reactions of benzaldehyde, biphenylcarboxaldehyde and 9-anthraldehyde with various aromatic diamines of varying flexibility in ethanol in the presence of tosic acid. Their chemical structures were determined by Fourier transform infrared and 1H and 13C resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, as well as elemental analysis. Their thermal properties were also examined by using a number of experimental techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), polarising optical microscopy (POM) and variable temperature X-ray diffraction (VTXRD). Azomethine dimer, prepared from benzaldehyde and 1,9-bis(4-aminophenoxy)nonane, exhibited a monotropic, nematic liquid-crystalline (LC) phase. The majority of the azomethine dimers containing biphenyl moieties exhibited enantiotropic, nematic LC phase on melting at relatively low temperatures, since they developed typical Schlieren, threaded or marbled textures in their LC phase. They also had accessible isotropisation temperatures well below their decomposition temperatures. Azomethine dimers containing anthracene moieties did not exhibit LC properties, but exhibited polymorphism as determined by POM and VTXRD in two cases. All of these azomethine dimers in the series had excellent thermal stability that was in the broad range of temperatures of 307–400C depending on their degrees of aromaticity index.