Smectic Mesophases Formed by Banana-Shaped Molecules 

Liquid crystals composed of bent molecules exhibit smectic-like phases including und-ulated or two-dimensional ones which are unlike the smectic phases fromed from normal calamitic molecules [1]. These phases are not miscible with any smectic phases of calamitic compounds, which emphasizes their distinctness, although it must be remembered that immiscibility is not a criterion for a new phase type. Until the true character of these phases is established, it has been proposed (Workshop on Banana-shaped Liquid Crystals, December 1997, Berlin) that the phases be labelled with the code letters B₁…B₇ in the sequence of the their discovery.