Optical microscopy of the liquid crystalline system E48:cholesteryl iodide:coco-based cholesteryl ester

Abstract

The credit of the discovery of liquid crystals goes to Reinitzer and Lehmann. He found that the compound cholesteryl benzoate changed phases upon heating. Currently, a great number of commercially available liquid crystals may be found. Unfortunately, these liquid crystals are expensive and not readily available here in the Philippines. Synthesis of liquid crystals from locally available materials such as coconut oil would greatly help further liquid crystal research by reducing costs.
In this study a method of synthesizing a liquid crystal from coconut oil is presented. The resulting product will be analyzed and combined with cholesteryl iodide and a commercially available liquid crystal, E48. The aim is to determine the effects of the cholesteryl ester and cholesteryl iodide on the texture of liquid crystal E48 and the changes that occur upon exposure of the mixture to UV.