High-resolution calorimetric study of the phase transitions of tridecylcyanobiphenyl and tetradecylcyanobiphenyl liquid crystals

A thermal study of the liquid crystals tridecylcyanobiphenyl and tetradecylcyanobiphenyl has been performed by means of adiabatic scanning calorimetry. Both compounds exhibit only the smectic-A mesophase between the normal liquid and the crystalline phase and their phase transitions are strongly first order. A summary of the enthalpies and transition temperatures for all the smectic homologues of the cyanobiphenyl family is given, based on high-resolution measurements of the present work and previous studies.status: publishe