杯芳烃在液相色谱固定相领域的应用及进展

杯芳烃是一类由苯酚单元通过亚甲基桥连的超分子化合物,具有独特的主客体识别性能,是继冠醚和环糊精之后第三代超分子化合物的主要代表。其被广泛应用于离子通道、有机催化反应、跨膜转运、纯化、色谱分离等方面。基于杯芳烃易于修饰的特点,选取不同性质的化合物进行衍生化,可以制备出具有不同识别能力和高选择性的杯芳烃衍生物,进而应用于不同色谱分离模式,可实现复杂样品的分离分析。该文从杯芳烃、杯芳烃衍生物和杯杂芳烃3个方面综述了近年来杯芳烃在液相色谱固定相方面的研究应用及进展,并对杯芳烃在色谱分离领域的发展提出了展望。     

From colloids in liquid crystals to colloidal liquid crystals

ABSTRACT

Liquid crystals in combination with nanoparticles are a fascinating topic of research, because of the wealth of aspects and questions to study. These range from simple effects of nanoparticles on phase transitions and phase diagrams, to the tuning of physical properties, adding of novel functionalities, all the way to the formation of spontaneous order by nanoparticles themselves and the possibilities that templating has for future materials design and applications. This article intends to provide a flavour of the multiplicity, variety and diversity that these thermotropic and lyotropic systems have to offer in the area of materials development, which we believe will become increasingly important, especially for switchable non-display applications and nanotechnology. It is not intended to provide a conclusive overview, which would be a presumptuous attempt considering the limited space available, but rather to place our own work into a wider context and to point out some more recent developments and trends in liquid crystal – nanoparticle dispersions.     

Amphotropic liquid crystals

The liquid crystalline state is a fundamental organization of matter, which combines order and mobility on a molecular, supramolecular and macroscopic level. In many cases the molecules can show both thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline (LC) phases, which is described as amphotropic behavior. Block-copolymers, polyhydroxy amphiphiles, disc-like, rod-like, polycatenar and banana-shaped LC molecules are discussed with respect to their amphotropic behavior with specific and non-specific solvents. The interactions of salts with polyether chains, leading to halotropic mesophases, and the interaction of aromatic electron acceptor molecules with electron-rich aromatic molecular parts are discussed in relation to lyotropic mesomorphism induced by classical solvent molecules. Polyphilic amphotropic materials showing more complex mesophase morphology and amphiphiles showing a hierarchical order of different levels of order are pointed out as future directions.     

Germanium liquid crystals

Liquid-crystalline compounds containing germanium atoms were synthesised and assessed for liquid-crystalline properties. These new compounds generally possess smectic C phases, and many also possess nematic, smectic A and higher order smectic phases. The germanium-containing liquid crystals were incorporated into smectic C mixtures. These mixtures tend to exhibit little change in smectic C*?layer thickness over temperature. This characteristic is associated with de Vries smectic A materials, but measurements show that, although they have high smectic C stability, the materials' smectic cone angles are small. Measurement of smectic cone angle versus temperature of an exemplar material and its analogues containing carbon and silicon in place of the germanium, all show small cone angles which fall smoothly and extrapolate to zero as the smectic C*?to smectic A transition is approached. These measurements largely explain the observed small layer changes and establish that the materials are not first-order de Vries materials. They must be located elsewhere along the de Vries-orthogonal continuum of smectic A phases.     

Mineral liquid crystals

This review describes recent developments in the field of liquid–crystalline suspensions of mineral nanoparticles. New families of chemical compounds have been investigated in the last few years. The most common mesophases (nematic, lamellar and columnar) have now been discovered in dispersions of disc-like and rod-like nanoparticles. New research thrusts presently focus on more subtle thermodynamic effects such as those of polydispersity and gravity. The specific physical properties brought by the mineral building blocks to the liquid–crystalline phases are now being examined. Mesomorphic ordering of the nanoparticles is increasingly used in materials science for templating and for preparing composites.     

Mineral liquid crystals

The contemporary state of studying mineral liquid crystals has been analyzed. Such crystals are lyotropic aqueous or water–organic colloidal solutions, the dispersed phases of which are represented by nano- and microsized crystalline particles. The methods of production, structure, and physicochemical properties of these systems, as well as the influence of electric and magnetic fields on them, have been discussed in detail.     

Alignment of a nematic liquid crystal using substituted calixarene Langmuir-Blodgett films

The alignment of a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) induced by several substituted calixarene-based films is reported. Calixarene molecules consisting of four or six moieties and different substituents (acyl and azobenzene groups) were synthesized. Films of such molecules were deposited using a Langmuir-Blodgett technique onto glass plates and were characterized using atomic force microscopy. These treated plates were used to prepare liquid crystal cells, and the overall alignment studied. In the case of photosensitive molecules, photoinduced reorientation experiments were undertaken and are reported. It is shown that it is not important to have a large number of interacting sites on the surface to induce a reorientation of the liquid crystal.     

Alignment of a nematic liquid crystal using substituted calixarene Langmuir-Blodgett films

The alignment of a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) induced by several substituted calixarene-based films is reported. Calixarene molecules consisting of four or six moieties and different substituents (acyl and azobenzene groups) were synthesized. Films of such molecules were deposited using a Langmuir-Blodgett technique onto glass plates and were characterized using atomic force microscopy. These treated plates were used to prepare liquid crystal cells, and the overall alignment studied. In the case of photosensitive molecules, photoinduced reorientation experiments were undertaken and are reported. It is shown that it is not important to have a large number of interacting sites on the surface to induce a reorientation of the liquid crystal.     

Triphenylene-based discotic liquid crystals: recent advances

Since the early work of Chandrasekhar and his co-workers on hexaesters of benzene published in 1977, discotic liquid crystals (DLCs), in particular, triphenylene-based DLC materials have been investigated intensively, especially over the last decade. The first successful commercialisation of triphenylene-based DLCs has been accomplished in Fuji ‘Wide-View’ optical compensation films. DLCs represent a broad well understood class of soft matter which possess the ability to self-organise into highly anisotropic and ordered structures such as columns that function not only as organic anisotropic semiconductors, but also contribute to the development of new smart materials in the field of organic electronics for many device applications such as photovoltaic devices, light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors, memory elements, and sensors. Over the last 35 years, more than 1000 triphenylene derivatives have been synthesised and investigated starting from structure-properties to structure-device performance relationships. The very first review by Cammidge and Bushby followed by Kumar summarised the chemistry and physical properties of triphenylene-based discotics up to 2003. In this review, progress in the research of triphenylene DLC materials since 2004 is comprehensively outlined.     

Azobenzene-containing bent-core liquid crystals: an overview

ABSTRACT

Azo-functionalised materials are of special interest due to their photochromic nature, i.e. reversible trans–cis isomerisation upon photoirradiation. The combination of photosensitivity and liquid crystalline properties in the same molecule allows the material to be exploited for optical and optoelectronic devices. Azobenzene-based bent-core liquid crystals (BCLCs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their rich mesomorphism. In this review, the main research directions and different molecular structures of bent-core molecules incorporating azobenzene unit and its subtype the so-called hockey-stick molecules are summarised. Additionally, azobenzene-based U-shaped molecules, hydrogen-bonded bent-shaped liquid crystalline materials and some selected examples of two different types of photoswitchable mesogenic dimers are provided. The nature, number and position of the lateral substitutions able to modify the phase behaviour of such BCLCs, affording in turn interesting liquid crystalline phases are discussed. Finally, the isomerisation process of these photosensitive BCLCs in solutions or in mesophases under the effect of UV–visible irradiation is summarised.     

Tolane oligomers: Model thermotropic liquid crystals

The liquid crystalline phases of several rigid-rod, non-polar tolane oligomers are characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and transmitted polarized light microscopy. We determine that a stable nematic phase can be formed at ambient pressure if the molecular axial ratio (length-to-width ratio) is greater than 4.5. A smectic phase forms in addition to the nematic phase if the axial ratio exceeds 6.1. Symmetrical fluorination of the terminal phenyl groups reveals that the liquid crystalline phase behaviour of these rigid rods is highly sensitive to perturbations of the charge distribution along the molecules. Nematic tolane oligomers can exhibit high stregth disclinations (s = ±3/2 and ±2) in their schlieren textures, and we discuss conditions that promote the stability of these defects.     

Dual frequency liquid crystals: a review

We review the recent progress in developing high performance dual frequency liquid crystal (DFLC) materials. A new figure of merit is derived for evaluating the DFLC performance. The dielectric relaxation and electro-optical properties of several high performance compounds, which possess a positive dielectric anisotropy at low frequencies and a relaxation frequency in the kilohertz region, are presented. Potential applications of these compounds are discussed. Compounds with a negative dielectric anisotropy were also compared and discussed. Two experimental DFLC mixtures were demonstrated with one intended for room temperature operation and another for elevated temperature operation.     

Mini-review: Ferrite nanoparticles in the catalysis

Recent applications of ferrite nanoparticles as catalysts in organic processes are reviewed. Catalytic applications include the use of mainly cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc ferrites, as well as their mixed-metal combinations with Cr, Cd, Mn and sometimes some lanthanides. Core–shell nanostructures with silica and titania are also used without loss of magnetic properties. The ferrite nanomaterials are obtained mainly by wet-chemical sol-gel or co-precipitation methods, more rarely by the sonochemical technique, mechanical high-energy ball milling, spark plasma sintering, microwave heating or hydrothermal route. Catalytic processes with application of ferrite nanoparticles include decomposition (in particular photocatalytic), reactions of dehydrogenation, oxidation, alkylation, C–C coupling, among other processes. Ferrite nano catalysts can be easily recovered from reaction systems and reused up to several runs almost without loss of catalytic activity.     

Gel dispersed liquid crystals

Microemulsion based gels (MBG) can be used as carrier materials for dispersed thermotropic liquid crystals (LC). The viscosity of the carrier material can be specifically changed by varying the gelatin content. The LC droplet sizes and their distribution in the MBG system are influenced by both the ratio between AOT surfactant and alcohol co-surfactant and the length of the carbon chain of the co-surfactant. LC droplets without or with only a small amount of alcohol co-surfactant have the same droplet size and show a radial structure.     

Thermotropic diacetylenic liquid crystals

Further studies are reported on polar diacetylenes with conjugated side chains which show liquid-crystalline behaviour. Results obtained using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and hot stage microscopy are reported. One group of materials forms a smectic liquid crystal phase and all polymerize from a nematic liquid crystal phase.     

TTF-based bent-core liquid crystals

The synthesis and characterization of bent-core liquid crystals which incorporate TTF groups is reported; different bent-core mesophases are induced depending on the molecular structure and properties derived from their compact packing have been studied.     

Heterocyclic polycatenar liquid crystals

We report the synthesis of polycatenar liquid crystals incorporating 2,5‐disubstituted 1 O’Neill, M. and Kelly, S. M. 2003. Adv. Mater., 15: 1135[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] 3 Catry, C., van der Auweraer, M., de Schryver, F. C., Bengs, H., Häussling, K., Karthaus, O. and Ringsdorf, H. 1993. Makromol. Chem., 194: 2985[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] 4 Adam, D., Schumacher, P., Simmerer, J., Häussling, K., Siemensmeier, K., Etzbach, K. H., Ringsdorf, H. and Haarer, D. 1994. Nature., 371: 141[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]‐oxadiazole and 1 O’Neill, M. and Kelly, S. M. 2003. Adv. Mater., 15: 1135[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] 3 Catry, C., van der Auweraer, M., de Schryver, F. C., Bengs, H., Häussling, K., Karthaus, O. and Ringsdorf, H. 1993. Makromol. Chem., 194: 2985[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] 4 Adam, D., Schumacher, P., Simmerer, J., Häussling, K., Siemensmeier, K., Etzbach, K. H., Ringsdorf, H. and Haarer, D. 1994. Nature., 371: 141[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]‐thiadiazole rings joined by a combination of carbon–carbon single and double bonds (–CH = CH–). The ratio of the aromatic core to the aliphatic chains was varied systematically by changing the number of the aliphatic chains, from two to six, and their length, from short to very long, i.e. from methoxy to hexadecyloxy. The shape anisotropy of the core was varied by exchanging the oxygen atom in the 1 O’Neill, M. and Kelly, S. M. 2003. Adv. Mater., 15: 1135[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] 3 Catry, C., van der Auweraer, M., de Schryver, F. C., Bengs, H., Häussling, K., Karthaus, O. and Ringsdorf, H. 1993. Makromol. Chem., 194: 2985[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] 4 Adam, D., Schumacher, P., Simmerer, J., Häussling, K., Siemensmeier, K., Etzbach, K. H., Ringsdorf, H. and Haarer, D. 1994. Nature., 371: 141[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]‐oxadiazole for a sulfur atom to form the corresponding 1 O’Neill, M. and Kelly, S. M. 2003. Adv. Mater., 15: 1135[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] 3 Catry, C., van der Auweraer, M., de Schryver, F. C., Bengs, H., Häussling, K., Karthaus, O. and Ringsdorf, H. 1993. Makromol. Chem., 194: 2985[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] 4 Adam, D., Schumacher, P., Simmerer, J., Häussling, K., Siemensmeier, K., Etzbach, K. H., Ringsdorf, H. and Haarer, D. 1994. Nature., 371: 141[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]‐thiadiazole ring with a smaller deviation from coaxiality of the bonds in the 2,5‐positions. The shape anisotropy of the core was increased by the presence of an additional phenylenevinylene unit in a series of tetracatenar oxadiazoles. We report the synthesis, physical properties and polymerization of a polycatenar reactive mesogen in a columnar phase to form a polycatenar polymer network.     

Polycatenar oligophenylene liquid crystals

We report the synthesis of oligophenylene polycatenar liquid crystals incorporating 1,4-disubstituted phenyl rings joined by a direct carbon carbon bond and some pyrimidine analogues. The nature of the linkages does appear to affect the mesomorphism significantly. The ratio of the aromatic core to the aliphatic chains is varied systematically by changing the number of 1,4-disubstituted phenyl rings and the length of the aliphatic chains. This strongly influences the transition temperatures of the mesophases. Some of the compounds are columnar over an extended temperature range of more than 200°C with melting points below room temperature. We suggest that a combination of the poor overlap of the conjugated electron system of the molecular cores making up the columnar structure and the high concentration of aliphatic chains leads to a low charge-carrier mobility.