Physical characterisation of 4′-butyl-4-heptyl-bicyclohexyl-4-carbonitrile

We report measurements of birefringence, bend elastic constant, principal dielectric constants and conductivities as functions of temperature in the nematic phase of 4'-butyl-4-heptyl-bicyclohexyl-4-carbonitrile (CCN-47). The compound exhibits a small birefringence and a large negative dielectric anisotropy. Surprisingly, it shows a negative conductivity anisotropy, which probably owes its origin to the structural details of the molecules. The orientational order parameters (S) are estimated from both birefringence and dielectric anisotropy, and they agree well in the entire nematic range. The experimental results are compared with those on CCH7, which has a similar core structure but with a longitudinal dipole moment, in place of the transverse one of CCN-47.