Synthesis of achiral rod-shaped triazolic molecules and investigation of their striped texture and propeller-patterned nematic droplets

In this study, novel achiral mesogens containing 4,4'-biphenyl central core connected on both sides through an ester function to 1-(4-(alkyloxy)phenyl)-1 H-[1,2,3]-triazolyl group have been synthesised and characterised. Different mesophases have been identified, with the appearance of both a periodic striped pattern and propeller-patterned droplets close to the transition between the nematic and the smectic-C phases. This periodic texture has been found to be independent of the geometry of the sample cell. These observations suggest a spontaneous symmetry breaking, which can result either from an intrinsic enantioselective self-sorting process with a chirality synchronisation mechanism, or from an extrinsic surface mechanism at the interface between the two phases.