Electroclinic materials with large induced tilt angles

The electroclinic effect in the smectic A phase of three successive even members of a homologous series has been studied. They exhibit large field-induced tilt angles up to 15° for an applied electric field of 10V/μm over a wide temperature range. The induced tilt angle increases with increasing alkyl chain length (n) of the non-chiral end of the molecule. On cooling from high temperatures, the induced tilt angle θ initially increases monotonically, but at lower temperatures, the trend is reversed. This observed anomaly is more pronounced for the higher homolog and at higher electric fields. A similar anomaly is also seen in the variation of the electroclinic coefficient evaluated at low fields. The relationship between the electroclinic tilt angle and molecular structure is discussed.