Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. 1989, 54, 868-877
https://doi.org/10.1135/cccc19890868

13C NMR study of the mixture MBBA/EBBA/decane: The influence of decane on the molecular ordering in the nematic phase

Josef Šebeka and Raivo Teeaarb

a Polymer Institute, The Centre of Chemical Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 842 36 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
b Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tallinn 200001, U.S.S.R.

Abstract

Influence of various amounts of decane dissolved in the eutectic nematic mixture in methoxybenzylidenebutylaniline and ethoxybenzylidenebutylaniline (MBBA/EBBA) on the ordering and structure of mesomorphic molecules has been determined employing high-resolution proton enhanced 13C NMR spectroscopy. The obtained results are compared with temperature behaviour of the ordering and structure of EBBA studied by means of the same technique. Slight differences in the ordering of the phenyl parts of molecules in the dependence on temperature and on decane concentration have been observed. This contrasts with great differences observed in the behaviour of the butyl parts of mesogenic molecules. Two possible explanation of the behaviour of butyl chain atoms in the dependence on decane concentration are presented. According to one approach, conformational order parameters of the first butyl carbons increase with the increasing decane concentration. Another possibility is that decane increases the correlation between the whole molecule rotation and the internal rotation around the first butyl bond.