Twisting power of bridged binaphthol derivatives: comparison of theory and experiment

The twisting ability of a novel series of bridged binaphthol derivatives with substituents of various lengths and chemical nature in the 6,6'-positions, recently synthesized and used as dopants in nematic solvents, is investigated with the help of the model based upon surface-helicity tensors. Structures of the low energy conformers of these compounds have been generated by molecular mechanics calculations. Their orientational behaviour and the coupling between anisotropy in the alignment and molecular chirality, which are at the origin of the helical twisting power, are analysed on the basis of the anisometry and the chirality of the shape.