Low dielectric loss and good miscibility of the tolane liquid crystals by tuning their lateral substituents

Abstract Two series of new lateral chlorine or methyl substituted high birefringent phenyltolane liquid crystals with saturated alkyl terminal groups (A1-A5 and B1-B6) have been synthesized and their structures were confirmed. The dielectric properties in the frequency range 9–30 GHz, mesomorphic properties and miscibility of these compounds were investigated. The results showed that these new compounds exhibit lower dielectric losses (tan δ⊥ decreases about 8.0%), higher material efficiency (η increases about 8.3%) and better low-temperature miscibility compared with the reference compounds C1-C3 with lateral 2,6-difluorines substituted phenyltolane. Overall, the formulations based on these LCs provide potential applications in microwave region.