Dimesogenic compounds consisting of a cholesteryl moiety and an aromatic mesogen interconnected through a central pentamethylene spacer

New non-symmetric dimesogens consisting of a cholesteryl moiety and an aromatic mesogenic unit interconnected through a pentamethylene spacer have been prepared. The aromatic units consist of two phenyl rings linked by carboxy, oxycarbonyl, ethylene, ethynylene, azo or Schiff's base groups. The mesomorphic and transitional properties have been investigated by using optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, helical pitch measurements, and electric field and miscibility studies. The structures of the mesophases have been studied using X-ray diffraction. Several kinds of smectic packings are observed depending on the nature of the linking group and an attempt to understand the origin of the different phase structures at a molecular level is made.