First liquid crystalline cuneane‐caged derivatives: a structure–property relationship study

The synthesis and phase behaviour of the first cuneane derivatives having liquid crystalline properties are reported. This new class of liquid crystalline materials is the homologous series of bis[4‐(n‐alkoxyphenyl)]cuneane‐2,6‐dicarboxylates. They were synthesized by two methods: either by isomerization of the previously prepared bis[4‐(n‐alkoxyphenyl)]cubane‐1,4‐dicarboxylates or by direct esterification of the cuneane‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid. Enantiotropic nematic phases were observed for the first four homologues. The higher homologues exhibited enantiotropic smectic A phases. The bis[4‐(n‐octylphenyl]cuneane‐2,6‐dicarboxylate exhibited the SmA phase at a lower temperature than its octyloxy analogue. The mesophases were investigated and established by polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction. Quantum chemical calculations suggest elongated structure for these new liquid crystalline compounds.     

The effect of terminal alkoxy chain on mesophase behaviour,optical property and structure of chiral liquid crystal compounds derived from (−)-menthol

Herein, we present the results of our extensive investigations on the synthesis and phase behaviour of nine novel (?)-menthol-based chiral liquid crystal compounds. They possess three phenyl rings and substituted with (?)-menthyl and varying length of n-alkoxy chains at one end. With the aim of exploring the fundamental relationships between molecular structural features and thermal properties, nine terminal n-alkoxy groups from ethoxy to n-octadecaneloxy group in even numbers have been used. A detailed characterisation of their properties was carried out. The characterisation results clearly illustrate that all the series compounds show the thermodynamically stable phases; the shorter chain homologues display only the BPI and N* phases, and the middle ones exhibit BPI, N* and S_A* phases while the longer chain members show the BPI, N* and S_C* phases. Besides, the BPI appeared in a narrow temperature range because of their thermodynamic disruption. Temperature range of the N* phase narrows when the length of the n-alkoxy tail increases. The reflection peak is shifted towards short wavelength region with increasing temperature due to the winding of the chiral nematic helix in the N* phase. Furthermore, their inherent reflection peak intensities of reflections were gradually weakened.     

Mean field analysis of four liquid crystalline odd–even ester dimers

A mean field analysis is presented for four liquid crystalline ester dimers, Dn, containing the dimethylbenzalazine mesogen, alkanedioyloxy flexible spacers from 7 to 10 carbon atoms and acetate terminal groups. The conformations of the dimers, in the RIS approximation, were generated from the known crystallographic coordinates of D8 and D9. The energy of each conformer is split into an internal (conformation dependent) part and an external (orientation dependent) part. After proper averaging over all orientations and conformations, the orientation–conformation partition function is evaluated and, from that, the Helmholtz free energy. A qualitative agreement between calculated and observed thermodynamic properties is obtained. In fact, the theoretical analysis correctly predicts strong odd–even fluctuations for the mesogenic group order parameter, S, as well as for transition entropy, ΔS _NI, and transition temperature, T _NI. The distribution of conformers is similar for dimers having the same parity of the spacer. For even dimers, the calculated fraction of linear extended conformers in the nematic phase at the N–I transition is around 47%, whereas it is less than 3.6% for odd dimers.     

Prediction of the auto-ignition temperature of binary liquid mixtures based on the quantitative structure–property relationship approach

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The auto-ignition temperature (AIT) is one of the most important parameters in flammability risk assessment and management in the chemical process....     

Synthesis,crystal structure,and photocatalytic property of heterometallic calcium‒titanium oxo cluster with high aqueous stability

Transition Metal Chemistry - A new heterometallic calcium?titanium oxo cluster formulated as [Ca2Ti8(μ3-O)8(AcO)2(OiPr)2(BA)16]·4H2O (BA?=?benzoate) was synthesized and...     

Synthesis,characterization, and systematic structure–property investigation of a series of carbazole–thiophene derivatives

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A series of carbazole–thiophene oligomers linked at the 3,6-positions of the carbazole fragment of 4,4′-bis(carbazol-9-yl)biphenyl (CBP) and...     

Liquid-crystalline structure–property relationships in halogen-terminated derivatives of cyanobiphenyl

In this article, we report on the liquid-crystalline properties of two series of halogen-terminated cyanobiphenyl-based materials. Unlike other rod-shaped, halogen-terminated materials reported, these materials do not exhibit the smectic A phase and instead only exhibit nematic liquid-crystal mesomorphism. Comparisons between these materials and analogous unsubstituted materials were made, and the relationships between their molecular structures and phase behaviour are discussed with the aid of molecular modelling at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of density functional theory.     

Synthesis,crystal structure,and magnetic characteristics of chiral cyanide-bridged Fe–Cu complex

Based on the building blocks, trans-dicyanide Fe(III) precursor and chiral amine Cu(II) compound, the chiral cyanide-bridged heterometallic Fe(III)–Cu(II) complex with the formula {[Cu(R/R-Chxn)₂Fe(bpmb)·(CN)₂][Fe(bpmb)(CN)₂]}·CH₃OH·H₂O (1) [bpmb^2– = 1,2-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)-4-methylbenzenate, R,R-Chxn = R,R-1,2-diaminocyclohexane] has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra and X-ray analysis. The latter revealed that the complex contained the cyanide-bridged cationic binuclear entity and free anionic cyanide building block. The complex demonstrated weak ferromagnetic coupling between neighboring Fe(III) and Cu(II) ions via the bridging cyanide group.     

Semi-fluorinated polyarylenes: Microwave-assisted synthesis and structure–property relationships

A series of three fluorine containing and three non-fluorinated Diels–Alder step-growth polyarylene polymers and copolymers was synthesized via conventional oil bath heating (days/weeks). A drastic time reduction was realized with a microwave-assisted polymerization (hours). The polymers were characterized by multinuclear (¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁹F) NMR and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis (thermogravimetric analysis [TGA], differential scanning calorimetry [DSC], and dynamic mechanical analysis [DMA]), gel permeation chromatography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), water contact analysis, and refractive index (RI) measurements. The NMR spectra indicated a mixture of para and meta conformations through the polymer backbone increasing to more para with greater fluorine content. TGA revealed the fluorine-containing polyarylenes possessed the highest char yields at almost 80% at 1000°C under nitrogen, and all the polyarylenes possessed onset of degradation temperatures above 550°C under nitrogen and air atmospheres. XRD analysis indicated more ordering for the fluorine-containing polyarylenes which afforded the high char yields. DMA gave storage moduli values in the range of 1–10 GPa for the polyarylenes. Molecular weights for all samples were above 100 kg/mol. Water contact angles did not change with fluorine content due to the shielding effect of the pendant phenyl groups. However, the RI decreased to 1.6497 at 632.8 nm for the polyarylene with the highest fluorine content.     

Local structure of ionic liquid–monohydric alcohol solutions

The method of molecular dynamics is used to investigate the effect of monohydric alcohols on the formation of the local structure of ionic liquids based on the dimethylimidazolium cation at T = 400 K. The intermolecular interaction energies are analyzed to find that the increase in the length of the alkyl chain in the alcohol molecule reduces the influence of the solute molecule on the formation of the local structure of the dmim⁺/Cl^––solute molecule systems. An analysis of the radial distribution function shows that the change in the structure and physical characteristics of the solute molecule does not affect the interaction between the hydroxyl group proton of the alcohol molecule and the ionic liquid anions, whose interactions form the hydrogen bond H^alcohol…Cl^– with a length of 2.3 Å.     

Non‐symmetric liquid crystal dimers containing the 4‐nitrobenzohydrazide group: synthesis and mesomorphic behaviour

The synthesis and mesomorphic behaviour are reported of a new series of dimers containing 4‐nitrobenzohydrazide and azobenzene groups as the mesogenic units. These non‐symmetric liquid crystal dimers are found to exhibit a monolayer smectic A phase (SmA₁). Lateral hydrogen bonding and strong dipole–dipole interactions are shown to be the major driving forces for the formation of the SmA₁ phase. The present study indicates that the intermolecular interactions and thus the mesophase morphology of the liquid crystal dimers can be controlled by the appropriate selection of the molecular fragments capable of forming H‐bonds.     

Mechanism of the emergence of the photo-EMF upon silicon liquid crystal–single crystal contact

The effect light has on a silicon liquid crystal–single crystal contact at different temperatures of the surface doping of silicon, and when BaTiO₃ nanoparticles are added to the composition of a liquid crystal, is studied. The mechanism of the emergence of the photo-EMF in the liquid crystal–silicon structure is explained.

     

Quantum chemical investigations on the structure–property relationship of aminopolynitrotriazoles

Density functional theory (DFT) has been employed to study the geometric and electronic structures, band gap, thermodynamic properties, density, and performance properties of a series of polynitrotriazoles at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The detonation performances were evaluated by the Kamlet–Jacobs semi-empirical equations based on the calculated densities and heats of reaction. It has been found that the model compounds with the predicted densities of 1.8 g/cm³, detonation velocities of 8.8 km/s, and detonation pressures of 35 GPa may be novel potential candidates of high energy density materials. The discrepancies in the performance properties, stabilities or sensitivities among isomers are caused by the relative position of NH₂ and NO₂ groups.     

New approach to unravel the structure–property relationship of methylcellulose

In the present paper we suggest a new concept to overcome some of the so far unsolved problems of the structure–property relationship of methylcellulose, the most important nonionic cellulose ether industrially produced in large scale. Not only from the viewpoint of scientific understanding, but also from that of the peculiar and application-determining behavior, the aggregation in aqueous solution and phase separation on heating are the most important questions. As a part of the concept, we had prepared amphiphilic block co-oligomers of tri-O-methylated and unmodified cello-oligosaccharides as structural models of typical sequences in methylcellulose chains. Now static and dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were carried out using solutions of the oligomers in water. Ellipsoidal particles with dimensions of about 50 nm for the semi-major axis and of circa 25 nm for the semi-minor one could be detected. These findings agree with the radii of gyration and the hydrodynamic radii, determined by static and dynamic light scattering. The data preliminary obtained demonstrate the strong aggregation tendency of block-like methylated cello-oligosaccharides.