Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
The ferroelectric liquid crystal material [4-[(4-methyloxyfenyl) carbonyloxyl] bifenyl-4′-yl]-(S)-2-methylbutoxypropionate containing a lateral methyl group on the aromatic ring of the alkoxybenzoate unit and two chiral carbons has been investigated by X-ray powder diffraction analysis at the 28 °C–105 °C temperature range. On cooling through the SmC temperature range, the layer spacing decreases from 28.3 to 27.7 Å with a small variation of average intermolecular distances. Lattice parameters of tetragonal and monoclinic crystalline phases occurring at lower temperatures have been determined.