Dielectric and electro-optical properties of ferroelectric side-chain liquid-crystalline polysiloxanes containing 4'-(2-chloro-3-methylpenta noyloxy)-4-alkanyloxybiphenyl side groups

A series of ferroelectric liquid-crystalline polymers (FLCPs) with siloxane backbone were synthesized in this study. The dynamics of these polymers was studied by broad-band dielectric spectroscopy (10(-1) to 10(7) Hz). The collective (Goldstone and soft mode) and molecular (alpha,beta,gamma,delta relaxation) relaxation processes were observed. These FLCPs exhibited large values of spontaneous polarization (larger than 190 nC cm(-2)), fast switching time (less than 1 ms) and reversible bistable effects in the chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase.