P-alkoxy- and p-alkylbenzoates of α, a’-bi-p-hydroxytoluene. New series of liquid-crystalline compounds

Six p-alkoxy and eight p-alkylbenzoates of 1,2-(p-hydroxyphenyl)ethane were synthesized for potential use as stationary phases in gas-liquid chromatography. All the p-alkoxy derivatives were nematic. The first five members of the alkyl series were nematic and the rest exhibited both smectic and nematic character. Most possess the desired combination of a wide liquid-crystalline temperature range and a high mesomorphic-isotropic transition temperature. The nematic-isotropic transition temperatures and entropies show the usual alternations characteristic of a high-melting series.