Achiral banana-shaped mesogenic bidentate ligands and their Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes

The first achiral bent-core banana-shaped bidentate ligands and their Cu(II) and Pd(II) metal complexes have been synthesized and investigated for mesomorphic behaviour. The bidentate ligands exhibit only one enantiotropic mesophase. The ligand having C₆-alkoxy chains shows a mesophase that has been assigned as a two-dimensional B₁ phase while the C₈ and C₁₀ homologues stabilize the fluid B₂ mesophase showing antiferroelectric switching characteristics. In constrast, their corresponding Cu(II) and Pd(II) metal complexes are non-mesomorphic.