Ahipa, T.N.Adhikari, A.V.2020-03-312020-03-312014New Journal of Chemistry, 2014, Vol.38, 10, pp.5018-502910.1039/c4nj00911hhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/9980We herein report the design and synthesis of fourteen new bent shaped luminescent mesogens carrying a pyridine core substituted with various polar groups. They possess a slightly non-planar bent conformation with various intermolecular interactions, as evidenced by their single crystal X-ray diffraction study, and exhibit an ambient to elevated temperature liquid crystalline phase (N or Colr), which has been confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. In these compounds, the nature of polar substituents influences significantly the formation of the mesophase over a wide thermal range. The appearance of the nematic phase is due to the presence of the lateral CN group attached to the pyridine core and the terminal F or Cl substituent. The formation of a rectangular columnar phase is attributed to the absence of the lateral CN group in the pyridine core and the presence of the terminal Br, NO2 or 4-pyridyl group. 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.Article