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Updated: Mar 22, 2026

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Ionic Liquid Crystals: Versatile Materials
Karel Goossens1,2, Kathleen Lava2,3, Christopher W Bielawski1,4
1Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
This Review covers the recent developments (2005-2015) in the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals. It was designed to give a comprehensive overview of the "state-of-the-art" in the field. The discussion is focused on low molar mass and dendrimeric thermotropic ionic mesogens, as well as selected metal-containing compounds (metallomesogens), but some references to polymeric and/or lyotropic ionic liquid crystals and particularly to ionic liquids will also be provided. Although zwitterionic and mesoionic mesogens are also treated to some extent, emphasis will be directed toward liquid-crystalline materials consisting of organic cations and organic/inorganic anions that are not covalently bound but interact via electrostatic and other noncovalent interactions.
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