Advances in 4-cyanobiphenyl tethered discotic oligomers and supermolecular liquid crystalline materials

A novel family of rod-like liquid crystals designed by Prof. G.W. Gray having nematic phase has been extensively used to make stable informative liquid crystal displays. These 4'-alkyl- and 4'-alkoxy-4-cyanobiphenyl molecules were created using his extensive understanding of liquid crystal chemical structure and physical properties. Following the discovery of this family of nematogens for display applications, the development of liquid crystal molecule designing and synthesising has resulted in the emergence of a broad new family of functional liquid crystals. This feature article presents the review of reports on the liquid-crystalline behaviour of 4-cyanobiphenyl-based oligomeric systems, which are 'in-between' polymeric and low molar mass systems and exhibit distinct molecular structures.