A Complex Cubic Liquid-Crystalline Phase Self-Organized from Five Differently Distorted Supramolecular Globular...

Area of Science:

• Soft Matter Physics
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Crystallography

Background:

• Previous work reported various self-organized helical arrays from supramolecular dendrimers.
• These structures, including quasicrystals, have spurred significant research in soft matter.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the discovery of a novel, complex cubic phase (Pm3m) self-organized from distorted globular supramolecular dendrimers.
• To investigate the thermodynamic transition between this cubic phase and a related tetragonal phase.

Main Methods:

• Self-organization of supramolecular dendrimers into ordered arrays.
• Structural characterization of the resulting cubic and tetragonal phases.
• Analysis of the reversible phase transition mechanism.

Main Results:

• Discovery of an unprecedentedly complex Pm3m cubic phase formed by 29 distorted globular supramolecular dendrimers.
• Observation of a resemblance between the cubic array and a previously reported tetragonal structure formed by 30 dendrimers.
• Identification of a thermodynamically controlled, reversible transition between the tetragonal and cubic phases.

Conclusions:

• The findings expand the known diversity of periodic arrays within the Pm3m space group.
• The study addresses fundamental questions regarding the reversible conversion between ordered soft matter structures.
• This research raises new inquiries into the origins of order and homochirality in natural systems.