Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules: twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers.

Cruickshank, E.; Anderson, K.; Storey, J.M.D.; Imrie, C.T.; Gorecka, E.; Pociecha, D.; Makal, A.; Majewska, M.M.

doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2021.118180

Liquid crystal trimers containing tertiary benzanilide groups. (2025)
Journal Article
STRACHAN, G.J., MAJEWSKA, M.M., CRUICKSHANK, E., POCIECHA, D., GORECKA, E., STOREY, J.M. and CORRIE, T.I. 2025. Liquid crystal trimers containing tertiary benzanilide groups. Journal of materials chemistry C [online], Advanced Article. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01532D

The rational design of new liquid crystal materials relies on an understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and the formation of liquid crystalline phases. The development of new materials can benefit from the use of a wide range o... Read More about Liquid crystal trimers containing tertiary benzanilide groups..

The influence of methyl groups on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. (2025)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., WALKER, R., MAJEWSKA, M.M., GORECKA, E., POCIECHA, D., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2025. The influence of methyl groups on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. ACS omega [online], 10(22), pages 23609-23619. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c02500

The synthesis and characterization of 12 ferroelectric nematogens based on the RM734 structural template are reported in the form of two series named nECMe and nECMeF. Within both series, the position of the methyl groups present was varied and all 1... Read More about The influence of methyl groups on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase..

Sulfur-linked cyanoterphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase. (2025)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., STRACHAN, G.J., PEARSON, A., POCIECHA, D., GORECKA, E., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. [2025]. Sulfur-linked cyanoterphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase. Physical chemistry chemical physics [online], Advanced Articles. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4CP04189E

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of cyanoterphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers containing sulfur links between the spacer and mesogenic units, the 34-{ω-[(4′-cyano-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)thio]alkyl}-[11,21:24,31-terphenyl]-14-carbonitri... Read More about Sulfur-linked cyanoterphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase..

The role of fluorine substituents in the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. (2024)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., WALKER, R., STRACHAN, G.J., GÓRECKA, E., POCIECHA, D., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. [2025]. The role of fluorine substituents in the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. Journal of materials chemistry C [online], Advance Article. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TC03318C

The synthesis and characterization of a group of molecules based on the skeletal structures of 4-[(4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl]phenyl 4-methoxybenzoate and (4-nitrophenyl) 2-methoxy-4-(4-methoxybenzoyl)oxybenzoate is reported. Fluorine substituents are a... Read More about The role of fluorine substituents in the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase..

Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase: on the role played by the length and parity of the spacer. (2024)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., STRACHAN, G.J., THAPA, K., POCIECHA, D., SALAMOŃCZYK, M., STOREY, J.M.D., GORECKA, E., LAVRENTOVICH, O. and IMRIE, C.T. 2024. Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase: on the role played by the length and parity of the spacer. Liquid crystals [online], 51(8-9), pages 1446-1470. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2024.2381570

Six members of the 1,ω-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yl) alkanes are reported and referred to as CBnCB in which n = 1, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 and indicates the number of methylene units in the spacer separating the two cyanobiphenyl units. The behaviour of C... Read More about Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase: on the role played by the length and parity of the spacer..

A design approach to obtaining highly polar liquid crystal dimers. (2024)
Journal Article
ZATTARIN, A., CRUICKSHANK, E., POCIECHA, D., STOREY, J.M.D., GORECKA, E. and IMRIE, C.T. 2024. A design approach to obtaining highly polar liquid crystal dimers. Liquid crystals [online], 51(6): a festschrift in honour of Professor Lech Longa, pages 1035-1046. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2024.2374524

The synthesis and characterisation of 10 members of the [4[(E)-[4-[4-[ω-(4-cyanophenyl)phenoxy]alkyloxy]-3-nitrophenyl]methylideneamino]phenyl] 2,4-dimethoxybenzoates is reported in which the number of methylene units in the flexible spacer is increa... Read More about A design approach to obtaining highly polar liquid crystal dimers..

Heliconical nematic and smectic phases: the synthesis and characterisation of the CB4O.m and CB8O.m series. (2024)
Journal Article
ALSHAMMARI, A.F., ZATTARIN, A., PEARSON, A., CRUICKSHANK, E., MAJEWSKA, M., POCIECHA, D., STOREY, J.M.D., GORECKA, E., IMRIE, C.T. and WALKER, R. 2024. Heliconical nematic and smectic phases: the synthesis and characterisation of the CB4O.m and CB8O.m series. Liquid crystals [online], 51(13-14): proceedings of the 16th European conference on liquid crystals (ECLC 2023), 10-14 July 2023, Rende, Italy, pages 2300-2312. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2024.2334342

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of nonsymmetric dimers belonging to the family of compounds, the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-ω-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy)alkanes (CBnO.m) is reported; in the acronym, n refers to the number of ca... Read More about Heliconical nematic and smectic phases: the synthesis and characterisation of the CB4O.m and CB8O.m series..

Rapid conformational analysis of semi-flexible liquid crystals. (2024)
Journal Article
HOBBS, J.L., GIBB, C.J., CRUICKSHANK, E., WALKER, R. and MANDLE, R.J. 2024. Rapid conformational analysis of semi-flexible liquid crystals. Liquid crystals [online], 51(6): a festschrift in honour of Professor Lech Longa, pages 1022-1034. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2024.2333323

We present an approach for rapid conformational analysis of semi-flexible liquid crystals. We use a simple graphical user interface (GUI) tool that leverages rules-based methods for efficient generation of bend-angle distributions, offering a signifi... Read More about Rapid conformational analysis of semi-flexible liquid crystals..

The emergence of a polar nematic phase: a chemist's insight into the ferroelectric nematic phase. (2024)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E. 2024. The emergence of a polar nematic phase: a chemist's insight into the ferroelectric nematic phase. ChemPlusChem [online], 89(5), article number e202300726. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202300726

The discovery of a new polar nematic phase; the ferroelectric nematic, has generated a great deal of excitement in the field of liquid crystals. To date there have been around 150 materials reported exhibiting the ferroelectric nematic phase, in gene... Read More about The emergence of a polar nematic phase: a chemist's insight into the ferroelectric nematic phase..

The influence of molecular shape and electronic properties on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. (2024)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., TUFAHA, N., WALKER, R., BROWN, S., GORECKA, E., POCIECHA, D., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2024. The influence of molecular shape and electronic properties on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase. Liquid crystals [online], 51(3), pages 401-415. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2024.2304598

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of ferroelectric nematogens based on RM734 having an additional methoxy group on the central phenyl ring are reported, the 3-methoxy-4-((4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl)phenyl 2-alkoxy-4-alkoxybenzoates (7-m-n... Read More about The influence of molecular shape and electronic properties on the formation of the ferroelectric nematic phase..

Ferroelectric nematogens containing a methylthio group. (2023)
Journal Article
STEPANAFAS, G., CRUICKSHANK, E., BROWN, S., MAJEWSKA, M.M., POCIECHA, D., GORECKA, E., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2024. Ferroelectric nematogens containing a methylthio group. Materials advances [online], 5(2), pages 525-538. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ma00446e

The synthesis and characterisation of eight nematogens containing a terminal methylthio group is reported. The compounds are based on RM734 and differ in the number and position of fluorine substituents, and in the position of the lateral methoxy sub... Read More about Ferroelectric nematogens containing a methylthio group..

The influence of the imine bond direction on the phase behaviour of symmetric and non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers. (2023)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., WALKER, R., STRACHAN, G.J. GOODE, C.H.F., MAJEWSKA, M.M., POCIECHA, D., GORECKO, E., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2023. The influence of the imine bond direction on the phase behaviour of symmetric and non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers. Journal of molecular liquids [online], 391(part A), article number 123226. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2023.123226

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of liquid crystal dimers are reported: the symmetric 1,5-bis(4'-oxyanilinebenzylidene-4-alkane)pentanes (m-O5O-m), and the nonsymmetric 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)-5-(4'-oxyanilinebenzylidene-4-alkane... Read More about The influence of the imine bond direction on the phase behaviour of symmetric and non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers..

To be or not to be polar: the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric nematic phases. (2023)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., RYBAK, P., MAJEWSKA, M.M., RAMSAY, S., WANG, C, ZHU, C., WALKER, R., STOREY, J.M.D., IMRIE, C.T., GORECKA, E. and POCIECHA, D. 2023. To be or not to be polar: the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric nematic phases. ACS omega [online], 8(39), pages 36562-36568. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c05884

We report two new series of compounds that show the ferroelectric nematic, NF, phase in which the terminal chain length is varied. The longer the terminal chain, the weaker the dipole–dipole interactions of the molecules are along the director and th... Read More about To be or not to be polar: the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric nematic phases..

The ferroelectric nematic phase: on the role of lateral alkyloxy chains. (2023)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., PEARSON, A., BROWN, S., STOREY, J.M.D., IMRIE, C.T. and WALKER, R. 2023. The ferroelectric nematic phase: on the role of lateral alkyloxy chains. Liquid crystals [online], 50(11-12), pages 1960-1967. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2023.2221651

The synthesis and characterisation of the 4-({[4’-nitro-(1,1'-biphenyl)−4-yl]oxy}carbonyl)phenyl 2-alkoxy-4-methoxybenzoates are reported: the 1O(m-On)PEPEBNO2 series. These materials include an additional phenyl ring compared to the extensively stud... Read More about The ferroelectric nematic phase: on the role of lateral alkyloxy chains..

Ferroelectric nematic-isotropic liquid critical end point. (2023)
Journal Article
SZYDLOWSKA, J., MAJEWSKA, P., VAUPOTIČ, N., RYBAK, P., Corrie T. IMRIE, Rebecca WALKER, R., CRUICKSHANK, E., STOREY, J.M.D., DAMIAN, P. and GORECKA, E. 2023. Ferroelectric nematic-isotropic liquid critical end point. Physical review letters [online], 130(21), article 216802. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.216802

A critical end point above which an isotropic phase continuously evolves into a polar (ferroelectric) nematic phase with an increasing electric field is found in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline material. The critical end point is approxima... Read More about Ferroelectric nematic-isotropic liquid critical end point..

Molecular shape, electronic factors, and the ferroelectric nematic phase: investigating the impact of structural modifications. (2023)
Journal Article
TUFAHA, N., CRUICKSHANK, E., POCIECHA, D., GORECKA, E., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2023. Molecular shape, electronic factors, and the ferroelectric nematic phase: investigating the impact of structural modifications. Chemistry: a European journal [online], 29(28), article e202300073. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202300073

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of low molar mass mesogens, the (4-nitrophenyl) 2-alkoxy-4-(4-methoxybenzoyl)oxybenzoates (NT3.m) and the (3-fluoro-4-nitrophenyl) 2-alkoxy-4-(4-methoxybenzoyl)oxybenzoates (NT3F.m), are reported in or... Read More about Molecular shape, electronic factors, and the ferroelectric nematic phase: investigating the impact of structural modifications..

The effects of alkylthio chains on the properties of symmetric liquid crystal dimers. (2023)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., STRACHAN, G.J., MAJEWSKA, M.M., POCIECHA, D., GORECKA, E., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2023. The effects of alkylthio chains on the properties of symmetric liquid crystal dimers. New journal of chemistry [online], 47(15), pages 7356-7368. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NJ06252F

The synthesis and characterisation of four series of symmetric liquid crystal dimers containing either alkylthio or alkyloxy terminal chains are reported. The (E,E)-[pentane-1,5-diylbis(oxy-4,1-phenylene)]bis{N-[4-(alkyloxy)phenyl]methanimine}s, mO.O... Read More about The effects of alkylthio chains on the properties of symmetric liquid crystal dimers..

The effect of a lateral alkyloxy chain on the ferroelectric nematic phase. (2022)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., WALKER, R., STOREY, J.M.D. and IMRIE, C.T. 2022. The effect of a lateral alkyloxy chain on the ferroelectric nematic phase. RSC advances [online], 12(45), pages 29482-29490. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA05628C

The synthesis and characterisation of two series of low molar mass liquid crystals, the 4-[(4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl]phenyl 2-alkoxy-4-methoxybenzoates (series 5-m) and the 4-[(3-fluoro-4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl]phenyl 2-alkoxy-4-methoxybenzoates (serie... Read More about The effect of a lateral alkyloxy chain on the ferroelectric nematic phase..

Intrinsically chiral ferronematic liquid crystals: an inversion of the helical twist sense at the chiral nematic – chiral ferronematic phase transition. (2022)
Journal Article
POCIECHA, D., WALKER, R., CRUICKSHANK, E., SZYDLOWSKA, J., RYBAK, P., MAKAL, A., MATRASZEK, J., WOLSKA, J.M., STOREY, J.M.D., IMRIE, C.T. and GORECKA, E. 2022. Intrinsically chiral ferronematic liquid crystals: an inversion of the helical twist sense at the chiral nematic – chiral ferronematic phase transition. Journal of molecular liquids (online), 361, article 119532. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119532

Strongly dipolar mesogenic compounds with a chiral center located in a lateral alkyl chain were synthesized, and shown to form the ferroelectric nematic phase. The presence of molecular chirality induced a helical structure in both the N* and NF* pha... Read More about Intrinsically chiral ferronematic liquid crystals: an inversion of the helical twist sense at the chiral nematic – chiral ferronematic phase transition..

Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules: twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers. (2021)
Journal Article
CRUICKSHANK, E., ANDERSON, K., STOREY, J.M.D., IMRIE, C.T., GORECKA, E., POCIECHA, D., MAKAL, A. and MAJEWSKA, M.M. 2022. Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules: twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers. Journal of molecular liquids [online], 346, article 118180. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2021.118180

The synthesis and characterisation of an homologous series of bent odd-membered mesogenic dimers, the 4'-(6-{4-[(E)-{[4-(alkylthio)phenyl]imino}-methyl]phenoxy}hexyl)[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carbonitriles (CB6O.Sm) is reported. This general class of materia... Read More about Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules: twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers..

All Outputs (26)