Self-organization of phthalocyanine--[60]fullerene dyads in liquid crystals

The use of blends in which a mesogen induces mesomorphism into a non-mesogenic compound has made possible the self-organization of phthalocyanine--[60]fullerene (Pc-C60) dyads into liquid crystals. Pc-C60 dyads 1, 2, or 3, in which two photoactive units are brought together by a phenylenevinylene spacer, have been synthesized through a Heck reaction that links 4-vinylbenzaldehyde to a monoiodophthalocyanine precursor, followed by standard cycloaddition of azomethine ylides--generated from the formylPc derivative and N-methylglycine--to one of the double bonds of C60. The mesomorphic and thermal properties of different mixtures formed by the liquid-crystalline phthalocyanine 4 and dyads 1, 2, or 3 were examined using polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). DSC diagrams of the blends show clear transitions from the crystalline state to a mesophase, and the measured structural parameters obtained from the powder diffraction experiments are consistent with a discotic hexagonal columnar (Col h) structure. Considering that segregation in domains of separated molecules of Pc-C60 dyad and phthalocyanine 4 would preclude mesomorphism due to the mismatch in the column diameter and to the lack of mesogenic character of the pure dyads, a predominance of alternating stacking is proposed. Additionally, the observed decrease in the calculated density of the blend mesophases relative to the mesophase of pure compound 4 is important evidence in this direction.