Mesomorphic Behaviour of Biphenyl Esters I: Biphenyl-4-Trans-p-n-Alkoxycinnamates

Many mesomorphic compounds undergo decomposition on repeated heating. In the search for compounds which are appreciably stable to heating cycles and which display mesophases over a wide range of temperatures, we have prepared some biphenyl-4-trans-p-n-alkoxycinnamates and have investigated their mesomorphic properties. Table 1 shows the transition temperatures for the compounds prepared in this work.