Dielectric studies of monolayer smectic A phases of strongly polar liquid crystals

Abstract

We have investigated the monolayer smectic (A1)-nematic transition in the fourth, sixth and eighth homologs of 4-(4'-alkoxybenzoyloxy)-4'-cyanoazobenzenes. Although the A2-N transition is second order in all the three compounds dielectric studies reveal that the changes in dipolar ordering accompanying the transition are substantially different in the three cases.