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Molecular complexity and the control of self-organising processes

Goodby, John W.; Saez, Isabel M.; Cowling, Stephen J.; Gasowska, Julita S.; MacDonald, Robert A.; Sia, Susan; Watson, Paul; Toyne, Kenneth J.; Hird, Michael; Lewis, Robert A.; Lee, Seung-Eun; Vaschenko, Valerij

Authors

John W. Goodby

Isabel M. Saez

Stephen J. Cowling

Julita S. Gasowska

Robert A. MacDonald

Susan Sia

Paul Watson

Kenneth J. Toyne

Michael Hird

Robert A. Lewis

Seung-Eun Lee

Valerij Vaschenko



Abstract

In this article we investigate the complexity of the molecular architectures of liquid crystals based on rod-like mesogens. Starting from simple monomeric systems founded on fluoroterphenyls, we first examine the effects of aromatic core structure on mesophase formation from the viewpoint of allowable polar interactions, and then we model these interactions as a function of terminal aliphatic chain length. By incorporating a functional group at the end of one, or both, of the aliphatic chains we study the effects caused by intermolecular interfacial interactions in lamellar phases, and in particular the formation of synclinic or anticlinic modifications. We then develop these ideas with respect to dimers, trimers, tetramers, etc. We show, for dendritic systems, that at a certain level of molecular complexity the local mesogenic interactions become irrelevant, and it is gross molecular shape that determines mesophase stability. The outcome of these studies is to link the complexity of the molecular interactions at the nanoscale level, which lead to the creation of the various liquid-crystalline polymorphs, with the formation of mesophases that are dependent on complex shape dependencies for mesoscopic supermolecular architectures. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.

Citation

Goodby, J. W., Saez, I. M., Cowling, S. J., Gasowska, J. S., MacDonald, R. A., Sia, S., …Vaschenko, V. (2009). Molecular complexity and the control of self-organising processes. Liquid crystals, 36(6-7), 567-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678290903146060

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 16, 2009
Online Publication Date Aug 14, 2009
Publication Date Aug 14, 2009
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal LIQUID CRYSTALS
Print ISSN 0267-8292
Electronic ISSN 1366-5855
Publisher Taylor and Francis
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 36
Issue 6-7
Article Number PII 913921175
Pages 567-605
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/02678290903146060
Keywords Liquid crystal polymorphs; Liquid crystal modelling; Ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystals; Dimers; Trimers and tetramers; Polymer liquid crystals; Dendrimers; Supermolecular liquid crystals
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/387024
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02678290903146060