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4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile

CAS Number 52364-73-5

Liquid Crystals, Materials, Optoelectronic Materials


Product Code M2360A1-5g
Price $230 ex. VAT

4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (8OCB), liquid crystal

Nematic/smectic A liquid crystal for the application of optical electronics i.e. in liquid-crystal display (LCD).


Specifications | MSDS | Literature and Reviews


4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (8OCB), CAS number 52364-73-5, is consisted of a biphenyl structure with octyloxy and cyano groups at 4,4'-postions. 8OCB belongs to the well known family of liquid crystal 4-oxy-4'-cyano­biphenyls (OCBs). In its solid form, 8OCB packs in lamellar-type bilayers structure, through hydrogen bonding induced by the CN group.

Three different metastable crystal polymorphs of 8OCB are observed from grown from its solution, square-plate, needle phase and long parallelepiped (PP) phase. Two different crystalline states of 8OCB are observed on cooling from its melt, a metastable long parallelepiped (PP) crystal phase and a stable crystal phase known as the commercial powder (CP) phase. Three transition temperatures temperature are measured for 8OCB from its crystal from to isotropic solution, crystalline–smectic A transition temperature, TCrA = 52.86 °C, smectic A–nematic transition temperature, TAN = 66.65 °C, and nematic–isotropic transition temperature, TNI = 79.10 °C.

Binary system of 4-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) and 4-octyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8OCB) mixture also shows the existence of three phase transitions, crystalline-smectic A, smectic A-nematic, and nematic-isotropic transitions. The maximum absorption wavelength of the 8CB/8OCB mixtures decreases with increasing percent weight of 8CB in 8OCB.

When presented in P3HT:PC60BM mixture, 4′-octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile molecules in the liquid crystalline state offer good template for the crystallization of P3HT, as well as the phase separation between P3HT and PCBM. A maximum PCE value of 3.5% was achieved by incorporating of 6 wt% nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) of 8OCB in P3HT:PC60BM active layer mixture, after annealing at the temperature of 70 °C in liquid crystalline transitions.

Liquid crystal

Liquid crystal

With biphenylcarbonitrile core

Three phase transition

Three phase transition

Crystalline - smectic A - nematic - isotropic

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High purity

High purity

>98% High purity

General Information


CAS Number 52364-73-5
Chemical Formula C21H25NO
Molecular Weight 307.43
Full Name 4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile
Synonyms 8OCB, 4′-(Octyloxy)-4-cyanobiphenyl, 4′-(Octyloxy)[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile, 4'-Octyloxybiphenyl-4-carbonitrile, 4-Cyano-4′-(octyloxy)biphenyl, 4-n-octyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl, 4-Cyano-4'-n-octyloxybiphenyl
Classification / Family Biphenylcarbonitrile, Liquid Crystals

Chemical Structure


4′-octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile, cas 52364-73-5
Chemical structure of 4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (8OCB), CAS 52364-73-5

Product Details


Purity >98% (1HNMR)
Form White powder/crystals
Mesomorphic Range N/A
Melting Point Tm = 54 °C

Pricing


Batch Quantity Price
M2360A1 5 g £170
M2360A1 10 g £250
M2360A1 25 g £500

MSDS Documentation


4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile MSDS4′-Octyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile MSDS Sheet

Literature and Reviews


  1. 4'-Octyloxybiphenyl-4-carbonitrile polymorph III, R. Davey et al., Acta Cryst., C61, o143-o144 (2005); DOI: 10.1107/S0108270105000326.
  2. Polymorphic crystalline forms of 8OCB, A. Jakli et al., Liq. Cryst., 27 (8), 1035-1038 (2000); DOI: 10.1080/02678290050080779.
  3. DSC studies on p-(n-alkyl)-p′-cyanobiphenyl (RCB’s) and p-(n-alkoxy)-p′-cyanobiphenyl (ROCB’s) liquid crystals, G. Oweimreen et al., Thermochimica Acta, 346, 37 (2000); DOI: 10.1016/S0040-6031(99)00411-6.

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