9703002 Kaszynski This project will focus on the development of a new class of nematic liquid crystals with large positive dielectric anisotropies for flat panel discplay applications. The centerpiece of the synthetic design will be the highly polar boron-heteroatom bond, with the following issues to be addressed: how does the formation of highly polar bonds to the boron atom and the resulting high coaxial dipole moments influence the mesogenic properties and electrooptical performance of liquid crystal materials?; how does the geometry of boron clusters influence the mesophase stability and the miscibility with other liquid crystal materials?; how does the electronic structure of 3 dimensional aromatic boron clusters influence the optical properties of the mesogens? %%% This well integrated research and education program combines in a very unique way a theoretical and experimental exploration of the basic and applied chemistry of boron and nitrogen, and investigates the practical applications of these materials in electrooptics for areas such as flat panel displays. Integrating these current high-priority materials research challenges with the educational curriculum of this CAREER Program results in the training of students in areas of growing relevancy thereby advancing science and technology while improving job prospects for students. ***
