Crystal smectic E revisited for(E)-N-(biphenyl-4-ylmethylene)-4-butylaniline – mesomorphism, crystal structure and FTIR study

This paper recalls the attention to an interesting compound having aromatic azomethine structure, namely: (E)-N-(biphenyl-4-ylmethylene)-4-butylaniline (PB4A). The molecular structure of PB4A was determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. Besides the enantiotropic smectic B and nematic phases, this compound exhibits a monotropic crystal E phase. By polarising optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, we confirmed the existence of these phases. FTIR measurements in attenuated total reflection configuration have been performed to investigate the evolution of significant absorption bands during phase transitions.