Mesomorphic property and gelation ability of rod-shaped compounds having a coumarin skeleton

Rod-shaped liquid crystal materials with a lactone group at the terminal position of the molecule were designed, synthesised and their mesomorphic properties in bulk state and gelation ability in several organic solvents were examined. The effects of perfluoroalkyl chain and chemical structure on liquid crystal property and gelation ability were investigated. These compounds showed smectic A phase in bulk state and gelation ability in polar organic solvents. It was found that the presence of perfluoroalkyl chain and the direction of orientation of the esters had a great effect on these properties.