Li, Y.-X., Jia, R.-Y., Ungar, G. orcid.org/0000-0002-9743-2656 et al. (4 more authors) (2024) Thermotropic “plumber’s nightmare” ‐ a tight liquid organic double framework. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 63 (46). e202413215. ISSN 1433-7851
Abstract
Gyroid, double diamond and the body-centred “Plumber's nightmare” are the three most common bicontinuous cubic phases in lyotropic liquid crystals and block copolymers. While the first two are also present in solvent-free thermotropics, the latter had never been found. Containing six-fold junctions, it was unlikely to form in the more common phases with rod-like cores normal to the network columns, where a maximum of four branches can join at a junction. The solution has therefore been sought in side-branched mesogens that lie in axial bundles joined at their ends by flexible “hinges”. But for the tightly packed double framework, geometric models predicted that the side-chains should be very short. The true Plumber's nightmare reported here, using fluorescent dithienofluorenone rod-like mesogen, has been achieved with, indeed, no side chains at all, but with 6 flexible end-chains. Such molecules normally form columnar phases, but the key to converting a complex helical column–forming mesogen into a framework-forming one was the addition of just one methyl group to each pendant chain. A geometry-based explanation is given.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | bicontinuous; cubic liquid crystal; dithienofluorenone; gyroid; polycatenar |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Sep 2024 13:24 |
Last Modified: | 25 Feb 2025 13:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/anie.202413215 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:217714 |