Intensive Investigation of Phase Behaviors of Discotic Liquid Crystals with an Unprecedented 3D Structure

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Based on our original finding that hexaalkoxytriphenylene derivatives, carrying imidazolium ion-terminated paraffinic side chains, generate a unique bicontinuous cubic mesophase, the present research aimed to elucidate the structural aspects of this new class of liquid crystalline (LC) materials. After many trials, we found that the use of triphenylene hexacarboxylic ester, in place of a hexaalkoxytriphenylene core, leads to the formation of a monodomain cubic mesophase. This finding allowed us to unveil the electron density map of the LC material. Indeed, the resultant structure is unprecedented and is characterized by a hybrid structure of gyroid and ring domains, consisting of assemblies of the imidazolium-ion pendants.