Helical superstructures in the mesophase of compounds derived from 2-cyanoresorcinol

Abstract

The mesophase exhibited by four members of a new homologous series of compounds composed of banana-shaped molecules derived from 2-cyanoresorcinol is reported. The characteristic optical textures showing helical filamentary growth patterns, coupled with the results from X-ray diffraction studies of these seven-ring compounds containing a biphenyl moiety indicate that the mesophase is indeed B 7 .