title: o-Phenylene octamers as surface modifiers for homeotropic columnar ordering of discotic liquid crystals.
abstract: Large-area homeotropic columnar ordering of π-conjugated discotic liquid crystals (LCs) is crucial for certain device applications but generally hard to achieve. Here we report polymeric o-phenylene octamer poly-1 and its monomer 1 as the first surface modifiers for homeotropic columnar order of a variety of discotic LCs up to a macroscopic length scale. Their octameric o-phenylene parts are known to fold helically into a cylinder that is reminiscent of a π-stacked column of discotic LCs. Through-view X-ray diffraction patterns of 1 suggested that this molecule adheres to the glass substrate and directs its cylindrical axis perpendicular to the glass surface. This "face-on" orientation likely nucleates the homeotropic columnar order of discotic LC materials.
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Advanced Science Institute , 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kajitani
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suna
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Terutsune
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osawa
authors.forename: Shigenori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujikawa
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Takuzo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aida