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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Author Spotlight: Experimental Approaches for the Synthesis of Low-Valent Metal-Organic Frameworks from Multitopic Phosphine Linkers
Published on: May 12, 2023
From Mesomorphic Phosphine Oxide to Clustomesogens Containing Molybdenum and Tungsten Octahedral Cluster Cores
Viorel Cîrcu1,2, Yann Molard3, Maria Amela-Cortes4
1Université de Rennes 1, UMR "Sciences Chimiques de Rennes", UR1-CNRS 6226, Equipe Chimie du Solide et Matériaux, Campus de Beaulieu, CS 74205, 35042 Rennes Cedex (France). viorel.circu@chimie.unibuc.ro.
Abstract:
New clustomesogens (i.e., metal atom clusters containing liquid crystalline (LC) materials) have been obtained by grafting neutral cyanobiphenyl (CB)- or cholesteryl-containing tailor-made dendritic mesomorphic triphenylphosphine oxide ligands on luminescent (M6 Cl(i) 8 )(4+) octahedral cluster cores (M=Mo, W). The LC properties were studied by a combination of polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray powder diffraction analyses. While the organic ligands showed various mesophase types ranging from nematic, SmA columnar (SmACol ), SmA, and SmC phases, it turned out that the corresponding clustomesogens formed layered phases (SmA) over a wide range of temperatures that depend on the nature and density of mesogenic groups employed. Intrinsic luminescence properties of the cluster precursors are preserved over the entire range of LC phase existence.
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