Liquid crystals (LCs) are known to undergo rapid ordering transitions with virtually no hysteresis. We report a remarkable counterexample, itraconazole, where the nematic to smectic transition is avoided at a cooling rate exceeding $20\mathrm{K}/\mathrm{s}$. The smectic order trapped in a glass is the order reached by the equilibrium liquid before the kinetic arrest of the end-over-end molecular rotation. This is attributed to the fact that smectic ordering requires orientational ordering and suggests a general condition for preparing organic glasses with tunable LC order for electronic applications.

• Received 23 November 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.055502