title: π-π interaction-induced vertical alignment of silica mesochannels templated by a discotic lyotropic liquid crystal.
abstract: The development of vertically aligned mesochannels in organic/inorganic hybrid films is in high demand and a challenging issue. However, there are no clear guiding principles to attain the surface-mediated vertical alignment. This work proposes the first clear versatile strategy to achieve the vertical alignment by utilizing the π-π interaction between the organic template molecule of a planar discotic liquid crystalline and 2D π-plane of graphite. The crucial role of the π-π interaction can be verified by the exploration with other substrates such as silicon wafer surfaces with varied surface energy (water contact angle: 5°-105°), quartz plates, and polymer films, which provided common parallel alignment with respect to the substrate plane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Design and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Shusaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seki
mesh_terms: D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011108:Polymers; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D006108:Graphite