A dopant-induced anomalous increase in the helical pitch of dicholesteryl 10, 12- docosadiynedioate 1 is explained by generation of smectic clusters in the cholesteric phase where the dopants act as promoters of smectic domains. The dopants, having a mesogenic core and the proper length of alkyl chains on both their molecular sides, such as 4, 4'- dialkylazobenzenes, 4, 4'-dialkylazoxybenzenes and 4, 4'-dialkylbiphenyls, considerably ...
