Dielectric and X-ray Studies of Eleventh and Twelfth Members of Two Isothiocyanato Mesogenic Compounds

Results of the dielectric and X-ray studies of the long-alkyl-chain members (n=11, 12) of two homologous series: nBT (4-n-alkyl-4'-isothiocyanato-biphenyl) and nCHBT (4-trans-4'-n-alkyl-cyclohexyl-isothiocyanato-benzene) in their liquid crystalline phases are presented. These compounds exhibit different polymorphisms: the nematic phase for $n$CHBTs and the smectic E and smectic A phases for nBTs. The dielectric measurements were performed in a wide frequency range of 1 kHz-3 GHz. The layer thickness in the smectic E and smectic A phases and the orthorhombic unit cell parameters of the smectic E phase were determined using the small angle X-ray diffraction method. In the smectic E phase the layer-thickness-to-molecular-length ratios are found to be close to 1. The corresponding ratios observed for the smectic A phase of $n$BTs are considerably higher (≈1.24), which indicates that an alternating head-to-tail arrangement of molecules in the layers is favored. The rotational dynamics of molecules in the smectic E phases is discussed in relation to their packing in a unit cell.