ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the molecular structure of rod-like liquid crystal materials and how those structures can be tailored to generate specific liquid crystal phases at specific temperatures. Liquid crystal phases are often denoted in a standard format with monotropic phases given in round brackets and virtual, extrapolated phases given in square brackets. The chapter discusses structure-property relationships of calamitic liquid crystal materials with an emphasis on the nematic phase. Initially smectic phases can be subdivided into the true liquid crystal smectics and the even more ordered crystal smectics. The true smectic liquid crystals are considerably less ordered and are liquids. The nematic phase, like the smectic phase, is generated by many alicyclic materials where the cores are constructed solely of alicyclic rings. Terminal groups are virtually always employed in liquid crystal systems. Linking groups are normally those structural units, other than a direct bond, that connect one part of a core to another.
