Polycatenar Mesogens with Various Degree of Flexibility of Molecular Structure

A series of newly synthesised rod-like polycatenar mesogens forms columnar phases, with the number of molecules in the column cross section depending on the core rigidity. For non-symmetric molecules, an additional density modulation, namely helical arrangement of molecules with a periodicity of approximately 10 molecular distances develops along the columns. For one of the compounds, a new type of columnar liquid crystal phase with 3D positional order is observed. Introducing a stilbene unit in the mesogenic core enhances the fluorescent properties of the compounds. In the hexagonal columnar phase, polarised light emission is observed.