Polar Molecular Ordering in the N X Phase of Bimesogens and Enantiotopic Discrimination in the NMR Spectra of Rigid Prochiral Solutes

The potential of mean torque governing the orientational ordering of prochiral solutes in the two nematic phases (N and N ) formed by certain classes of symmetric achiral bimesogens is formulated and used for the analysis of existing NMR measurements on solutes of various symmetries dissolved in the two phases. Three distinct attributes of the solvent phase, namely polarity of the orientational ordering, chirality of the constituent molecules, and spatial modulation of the local director, are identified as underlying three possible mechanisms for the generation of chiral asymmetry in the low temperature nematic phase (N ). The role and quantitative contribution of each mechanism to enantiotopic discrimination in the N phase are presented and compared with the case of the conventional chiral nematic phase (N*). It is found that polar ordering is essential for the appearance of enantiotopic discrimination in small rigid solutes dissolved in the N phase and that such discrimination is restricted to solutes belonging to the point group symmetries C and C .