Liquid crystalline assembly of coil-rod-coil molecules with lateral methyl groups into 3-D hexagonal and tetragonal assemblies.
In this paper, we report the synthesis and self-assembly behavior of coil-rod-coil molecules, consisting of three biphenyls linked through a vinylene unit as a conjugated rod segment and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 7, 12 and 17, incorporating lateral methyl groups between the rod and coil segments as the coil segment. Self-organized investigation of these molecules by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal polarized optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the lateral methyl groups attached to the surface of rod and coil segments, dramatically influence the self-assembling behavior in the liquid-crystalline mesophase. Molecule 1 with a relatively short PEO coil length (DP=7) self-assembles into rectangular and oblique 2-dimensional columnar assemblies, whereas molecules 2 and 3 with DP of 12 and 17 respectively, spontaneously self-organize into unusual 3-dimensional hexagonal close-packed or body-centered tetragonal assemblies.
Key Laboratory for Organism Resources of the Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yanbian University, No.977 Gongyuan Road, Yanji 133002, China. 2013010407@ybu.edu.cn.
Zhuoshi
Z
Wang
Key Laboratory for Organism Resources of the Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yanbian University, No.977 Gongyuan Road, Yanji 133002, China. 2011010505@ybu.edu.cn.
Yu
Y
Lan
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Food Safety, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013, China. zhongkeli2000@bhu.edu.cn.
Keli
K
Zhong
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Joint Laboratory of Polymer Science and Materials, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. liangyr@iccas.ac.cn.
Yongri
Y
Liang
Key Laboratory for Organism Resources of the Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yanbian University, No.977 Gongyuan Road, Yanji 133002, China. tchen@ybu.edu.cn.
Tie
T
Chen
Key Laboratory for Organism Resources of the Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yanbian University, No.977 Gongyuan Road, Yanji 133002, China. lyjin@ybu.edu.cn.
Long Yi
LY
Jin
D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D002151:Calorimetry; D003460:Crystallization; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D011108:Polymers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols