2014 Senior Thesis

 

Investigating the effects of terminal alkyl chain alterations on the ODBP liquid crystal molecule

 

Abstract

The nematic liquid crystal phase is a very fluid phase that has the potential to be used in electronic devices efficiently. It can possess a difficult to access but very promising biaxial nematic phase which would allow for faster switching times and be less energy consuming. However, the nematic phase is normally only accessible at high temperatures (200°C), and the biaxial nematic phase has only been found in very specific compounds.

 

This research focuses on altering the oxadiazole bisphenol (ODBP) liquid crystal molecule which has exhibited the biaxial nematic phase. The goal of this research is to access the nematic phase at lower temperatures. This research investigated altering the terminal alkyl chain lengths on the molecule with carbon lengths C5-C10 as slight structural variations on the molecule have shown drastic changes in phase behavior. We found that shorter chain lengths possessed lower onset nematic temperatures but the middle length derivatives, C7 and C8, remained the most fluid at low temperatures. As the chains got longer, the range at which the nematic appeared became shorter.