Ferroelectric liquid-crystalline semiconductors based on a phenylterthiophene skeleton: effect of the introduction of oligosiloxane moieties and photovoltaic effect?

Journal of Materials Chemistry C Pub Date: 2014-12-17 DOI: 10.1039/C4TC01690D

Abstract

Ferroelectric liquid-crystalline phenylterthiophene derivatives bearing a decenyl group, disiloxane chain, and cyclotetrasiloxane ring were synthesized. These compounds exhibited a chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase. The spontaneous polarizations of the compounds exceeded 50 nC cm?2. The hole mobilities determined by the time-of-flight method were in the order of 1 × 10?4 cm2 V?1 s?1. The compound with a decenyl group exhibited an anomalous photovoltaic effect in the SmC* phase although the conversion efficiency was lower than 0.01%. Notably, even the compound bearing a bulky cyclotetrasiloxane ring exhibited an enantiotropic SmC* phase.

Graphical abstract: Ferroelectric liquid-crystalline semiconductors based on a phenylterthiophene skeleton: effect of the introduction of oligosiloxane moieties and photovoltaic effect
Recommended Literature