351432-33-2Relevant articles and documents
Influence of flexible spacers on liquid-crystalline self-assembly of T-shaped bolaamphiphiles
Cheng, Xiaohong,Liu, Feng,Zeng, Xiangbing,Ungar, Goran,Kain, Jens,Diele, Siegmar,Prehm, Marko,Tschierske, Carsten
, p. 7872 - 7881 (2011/06/27)
T-shaped bolaamphiphiles composed of a biphenyl rigid core, a semiperfluorinated lateral chain, two polar 1,2-diol groups in the terminal positions and flexible alkyl spacers connecting the polar groups with the biphenyl core have been synthesized and investigated by polarizing microscopy, DSC and X-ray scattering. The influence of spacer length and position of the spacer on the self-assembly in liquid-crystalline phases was studied. A series of four different columnar phases (Colhex/p6mm, Col rec/p2gg, Colsqu/p4gm and Colsqu/p4mm), representing liquid-crystalline honeycomb structures composed of cylinders having hexagonal, pentagonal, and square cross section, were found on increasing the spacer length. It is also shown that introduction of aliphatic spacers in the backbone of the T-shaped bolaamphiphiles replaces the Colrec/c2mm phase made up of rhombic cylinders with the Colsqu/p4mm phase composed of square cylinders. It also causes the 2d lattice of pentagonal cylinders to increase the symmetry from Colrec/p2gg to Col squ/p4gm. A temperature-dependent second-order phase transition between these two pentagonal cylinder structures was observed for the first time. Beside these effects on cylinder shape and phase symmetry the flexible spacer units also lead to reduced phase transition temperatures and allow adjustment of cylinder side length to envelop a wider range of side-chain sizes. Electron density maps suggest that this may involve sacrificing some of the hydrogen bonds.
Design of liquid crystalline block molecules with nonconventional mesophase morphologies: Calamitic bolaamphiphiles with lateral alkyl chains
Koelbel,Beyersdorff,Xiao Hong Cheng,Tschierske,Kain,Diele
, p. 6809 - 6818 (2007/10/03)
Novel bolaamphiphiles, consisting of a biphenyl rigid core, polar 2,3-dihydroxypropoxy groups at each terminal end, and an additional long alkyl chain in a lateral position have been synthesized. The structures of these ternary block molecules were systematically changed by variation of the length and position of the alkyl chain, by introduction of additional spacer units between one of the 2,3-dihydroxypropyl groups and the rigid core, and by replacement of one of the 2,3-dihydroxypropoxy groups by a single hydroxy group. The influence of these structural variations on the liquid crystalline properties of these new materials was investigated by polarized-light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. These investigation have shown that, by elongation of the lateral chain, a transition from a smectic monolayer structure (SmA1) via a strongly distorted layer structure (SmA+), a centered rectangular columnar phase (Colr/c2mm) and a noncentered rectangular columnar phase (Colr/p2gg) to a hexagonal columnar phase (Colh/p6mm) takes place. Elongation of the bolaamphiphilic core leads to the loss of the columnar phases, which are replaced by smectic phases, whereas reduction of its length favors the hexagonal columnar phase. This phase sequence is explained as a result of the microsegregation of the lateral alkyl chains from the rigid aromatic cores. The segregated alkyl chains are organized in columns that interrupt the smectic layers. The hydrogen bonding keep the bolaamphiphilic cores fixed end to end, so that they form networks of cylinders around the lipophilic columns. The space required by the alkyl chains with respect to the length of the bolaamphiphilic cores is restricted and largely determines the geometry of the cylinders, which leads to the observed phase sequence. The obtained mesophase morphologies, built up by three distinct sets of subspaces, are related to morphologies of some ternary block copolymers. Furthermore, the investigated compounds represent a novel class of materials, capable of forming supramolecular columnar mesophases.
