Preparation of Laterally Chloro-Substituted Schiff Base Ester Liquid Crystals: Mesomorphic and Optical Properties

A new class of Schiff base/ester compounds: ICln, 4-((2'-chlorophenylimino)methyl)phenyl-4"-alkoxy benzoates, were synthesized and their mesophase characteristics and thermal behavior were evaluated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study mesophase transitions, and polarized optical microscopy was carried out to identify the phases (POM). The results show that all compounds are monomorphic, and enantiotropic nematic (N) phases were seen at all side chains. It was found that lateral Cl atoms in the terminal benzene ring influence both conformation and mesomorphic properties. Comparisons between the present investigated lateral Cl derivatives and their laterally neat, as well as their isomeric, compounds have been briefly discussed. Results revealed that the insertion of lateral Cl substituent in the molecular structure impacts the type and stability of the formed mesophases. The exchanges of the ester-connecting moiety improve their thermal nematic stability than their previously prepared structurally isomeric derivatives. These compounds exhibit a broad absorption in the UV-Visible region, including a peak in UV region and a tail around 550 nm, and there were observed to be absorption tail increases and energy band gap decreases with the increase of the alkoxy side chain length. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity was noted to be quenched for the bulky alkoxy group ascribed to non-radiative recombination through the defect states. Moreover, time resolved fluorescence decay spectra reveal that both the radiative and non-radiative recombination lifetime increases with the increase of alkoxy side chain length.