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From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
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Flavylium Salts: A Blooming Core for Bioinspired Ionic Liquid Crystals
Robert Forschner1, Jakob Knelles1, Korinna Bader1
1Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwalding 55, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany.
Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 17, 2019
Summary
New thermotropic ionic liquid crystals based on the flavylium scaffold exhibit tunable liquid crystal phases and strong emissive properties. These novel materials offer potential for applications requiring room temperature liquid crystals with advanced optical functionalities.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) are salts that exhibit liquid crystalline properties.
- Flavylium compounds are known for their optical properties but have not been previously explored as ILCs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel thermotropic ionic liquid crystals based on the flavylium scaffold.
- To investigate the structure-property relationships of these new materials.
- To explore their potential as emissive liquid crystals.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of flavylium-based ionic liquid crystals.
- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for thermal analysis.
- Polarizing optical microscopy (POM) for phase identification.
- X-ray diffraction (XRD) for structural characterization.
- UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy for optical properties.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of flavylium-based thermotropic ILCs.
- Observation of various liquid crystalline phases including smectic (SmA), lamello-columnar (LamCol), and columnar (Colro, Colho, Coldh).
- Mesophase stability ranging from 13 K to 220 K, enabling room temperature liquid crystal behavior.
- Strong absorption between 444-507 nm and high emission quantum yields up to 99%.
Conclusions:
- Flavylium-based ILCs can be designed to exhibit diverse liquid crystalline phases.
- The degree of side-chain substitution influences the type of mesophase formed.
- These compounds possess excellent optical properties, making them promising for optoelectronic applications.
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