Abstract
We report anew class of liquid crystals incorporating a 2,5-disubstituted thiophene ring and one or two conjugated trans-carbon-carbon double bonds in the terminal chain for use as components of nematic mixtures for TN-LCDs and STN-LCDs. The combination of these molecular elements contribute towards generating a high birefringence, a high nematic clearing point as well as a low viscosity for these materials. Several of these compounds exhibit a melting point below room temperature. This is the first time a room temperature nematic phase has been reported for phenyl thiophene derivatives. The new thiophene compounds can be used to induce a high birefringence in nematic mixtures for LCDs with short response times.