The effect of polymer stabilization on phase transitions in a series of antiferroelectric heterocyclic esters

We used optical Bragg reflections to study the effects of photo-polymer networks on the phase transitions of four heterocyclic esters that exhibit various frustrated chiral smectic phases. When polymerization is carried out in the SmC* phase, this phase is stabilized at the expense of the intermediate phases. However, in nonradiated samples, which contained traces of the polymer, the intermediate phases are stabilized at the expense of the SmC*(A) phase. The wavelengths selectively reflected by the SmC*(A) phase are longer than those reflected by the SmC* phase and the stability of the SmC*(A) is unaffected by polymerization.