FT-IR and two-dimensional correlation analysis of the liquid crystalline phase transitions in the 4-Bromobenzylidene-4'-alkyloxyanilines

J Phys Chem B. 2013 Sep 12;117(36):10612-8. doi: 10.1021/jp4042155. Epub 2013 Aug 28.

Abstract

The FT-IR spectra of the 4-bromobenzylidene-4'-alkyloxyanilines (nBBAA, for n = 4-12) were studied as a function of temperature. The molten state of the alkyloxy chain in smectic B (SmB), smectic A (SmA), and isotropic phases was analyzed. Generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy has been applied to study changes in the conformational structure and specific interactions of molecules at phase transition in homologous series of nBBAA. A windowed autocorrelation analysis enabled us to locate transition points basing on the spectroscopic data.