Orientational order in smectic liquid-crystalline phases of amphiphilic diols

The thermotropic smectic phases of amphiphilic 2-(trans-4-n-alkylcyclohexyl)-propane-1,3-diols were investigated by means of small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering and values of the smectic (bi-)layer spacing, the orientational order parameters P(2) and P(4), the orientational distribution function as well as the intralayer correlation length were extracted from the scattering profiles. The results for the octyl homolog indicate that these smectic phases combine a very high degree of smectic one-dimensional-translational order with remarkably low orientational order, the order parameter of which (P(2) approximately 0.56) is far below those values typically found in nonamphiphilic smectics. This combination, quite exceptional in thermotropic smectics, most likely originates from the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the terminal diol groups which seems to be the specific driving force in the formation of the thermotropic smectic structure in these amphiphiles and leads to a type of microphase segregation. Even in the absence of a solvent, the liquid-crystalline ordering of the amphiphilic mesogens comes close to the structure of the so-called neat soaps, found in lyotropic liquid crystals.     

Orientational effects of hydrogen bonding in liquid-crystalline solutions containing Schiff bases

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding in binary mixtures containing nematogenic Schiff bases as solvents and proton-donating non-mesomorphic solutes has been considered. Reasons for the anomalous concentration dependences of solute order parameters are discussed. A solution structure model of acetic acid in nematic solvents is proposed; constants of complex-dimer equilibrium and coefficients of the orientational correlation of the non-mesogenic solute are calculated on the basis of this model. Hydrogen bonded complex structure using ¹³C NMR has been studied and stability constants in isotropic solutions in chloroform have been calculated. The influence of the solvent orientational ordering on the complex stability is discussed. Data on the solvation isotopic effects in the solutions investigated, which confirm the adequacy of the model are given.     

Preparation and liquid-crystalline properties of toluene-4-sulphonyl urethane of hydroxypropylcellulose

Abstract

A novel liquid-crystalline polymer, the toluene-4-sulphonyl urethane of hydroxypropylcellulose (TSUHPC), was prepared through chemical modification of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) of M_w = 60000 g mol^?1. The resulting polymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing microscopy. It was found that thermotropic liquid crystal phases are formed between about 60°C and 110°C. Concentrated solutions of TSUHPC in acetone and N,N-dimethylacetamide exhibit cholesteric behaviour, at room temperature. When approaching the lyotropic mesophase to solid transition, either by cooling or by solvent evaporation, very interesting arborescent structures of a seemingly fractal nature may be observed, depending on the kinetics of the transition. A banded texture can be observed when the polymer is sheared near the transition to the isotropic phase.     

Preparation and liquid-crystalline properties of toluene-4-sulphonyl urethane of hydroxypropylcellulose

A novel liquid-crystalline polymer, the toluene-4-sulphonyl urethane of hydroxypropylcellulose (TSUHPC), was prepared through chemical modification of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) of M_w = 60000 g mol^-1. The resulting polymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing microscopy. It was found that thermotropic liquid crystal phases are formed between about 60°C and 110°C. Concentrated solutions of TSUHPC in acetone and N,N-dimethylacetamide exhibit cholesteric behaviour, at room temperature. When approaching the lyotropic mesophase to solid transition, either by cooling or by solvent evaporation, very interesting arborescent structures of a seemingly fractal nature may be observed, depending on the kinetics of the transition. A banded texture can be observed when the polymer is sheared near the transition to the isotropic phase.     

Synthesis and liquid-crystalline properties of pyrans

4-Alkoxy-N-{4-[5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)methyloxy]phenylcarbomoylmethyloxybenzylidene}anilines are synthesized. They exhibit properties of smectic and nematic liquid crystals.Bashkir State University, Ufa 450074. Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 7, pp. 896–897, July, 1994. Original article submitted May 23, 1994.     

Orientational properties of PVA coated SiO films

A new method for producing tilt angle in liquid crystal cells is proposed. The method requires a SiO vacuum deposition layer which is subsequently covered with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer, obtained by dipping in a solution. It was possible to obtain tilt angles between 7 and 30° by changing the concentration of PVA in the solution.     

The liquid-crystalline properties of selected cellulose derivatives

The liquid-crystalline properties of three cellulose esters, phenylacetoxy cellulose (PAC), 4-methoxyphenylacetoxy cellulose (4MPAC), and p-tolylacetoxy cellulose (TAC) and two cellulose silyl ethers, trimethyl silyl cellulose (TMSC) and t-butyldimethylsilyl cellulose (TBDMSC), are reported. Hot-stage polarized light microscopy provided evidence regarding the formation of thermotropic mesophases in the PAC, 4MPAC, TAC, and TMSC in bulk form upon heating. The concomitant DSC data showed further evidence of the thermotropic nature of these materials. PAC, 4MPAC, TAC, and TMSC formed lyotropic mesophases at 44, 48, 50, and 27 wt%, respectively in CH₂Cl₂. The presence of fingerprint patterns in wholly anisotropic solutions in conjunction with optical rotation measurements confirmed the cholesteric nature of these liquid crystalline solutions. TBDMSC formed neither a lyotropic nor a thermotropic liquid-crystalline phase due to the low degree of substitution (DS 0.68) of this derivative. The hydroxyl substituents of PAC, 4MPAC, TAC, and TMSC may be readily removed under mild conditions to regenerate cellulose.     

Transport properties of a side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer. Poly(4-acryloyloxy biphenyl)

The transport properties of a side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer forming a smectic A phase have been investigated using dichloromethane as a permeant. Samples differing in the isotropization enthaoly were analyzed. A. Correlation between this thermal parameter and sorption has been found, while the diffusion coefficient is substantially the same in all samples. The results obtained can be explained in terms of a biphasis model in which a disordered permeable phase is present within the liquid-crystalline phase, which is impermeable to the diffusant molecules.     

On the liquid-crystalline properties of methacrylic polymers containing 4′-(4-alkyloxyphenyl)azobenzene mesogens

In this article, we report on the synthesis and thermotropic behaviour of methacrylic polymers containing 4′-(4-alkyloxyphenyl)azobenzene mesogens attached to the backbone through n-alkyloxy spacers of 6 or 10 methylene groups. Polymerisations were carried out via free radicals using azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. Chemical structures of polymers and their precursors were characterised by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that azopolymers are thermally stable up to temperatures around 300°C. The thermotropic liquid-crystalline (LC) behaviour was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results indicate that all synthesised mesogens, monomers and polymers developed two or more orthogonal LC phases in wide temperature ranges. Mesogens and monomers developed nematic and smectic phases, whereas polymers exhibited only smectic phase. In polymers, the arrangement of mesogens depends on the relative length of the spacer and the terminal flexible chain; two distinct structural models were proposed based on chemical interactions and steric constrains. The trans–cis photoisomerisation of monomers and polymers in solution was also studied. High cis-isomer contents (>80%) were reached in relative short irradiation times despite the steric constrains imposed by the polymer backbone.     

Transport properties of a thermotropic liquid-crystalline polyester

Transport properties of a thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer with the mesogenic group in the main chain were analyzed. Different samples were examined as films obtained by pressure molding and rapid quenching to 0°C. Thermal and transport parameters of the quenched films were measured. The results show that the isotropization enthalpy and sorption coefficient are interdependent, while the diffusion coefficient is substantially constant in all the samples analyzed. These results suggest that the permeable component behaves in the same way in the different samples but is present in different amounts, the transport phenomena occurring in amorphous, or less ordered, interphase regions within impermeable mesomorphic and crystalline domains.     

Mesomorphic properties of side-chain cholesteric liquid-crystalline elastomers

New monomer cholesteryl 4-(10-undecylen-1-yloxybenzoyloxy)-4′-ethoxybenzoate (M₁), crosslinking agent biphenyl 4,4′-bis(10-undecylen-1-yloxybenzoyloxy-p-ethoxybenzoate) (M₂) and a series of side-chain cholesteric elastomers were prepared. The chemical structures of the monomers and elastomers obtained were confirmed by element analyses, FT-IR, and ¹H NMR. The mesomorphic properties and thermal stability were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, polarizing optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The influence of the content of the crosslinking unit on the phase behavior of the elastomers was examined. M ₁ showed cholesteric phase, and M ₂ displayed nematic phase. The elastomers containing less than 12 mol% of the crosslinking units revealed reversible mesomorphic phase transition, wide mesophase temperature ranges, and high thermal stability.     

Self-assembly and liquid-crystalline properties of 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins

We report three crystal structures of a synthetic 5-fluoroalkylporphyrin molecule that was programmed for self-assembly. All the X-ray structures of zincated and free-base porphyrins Zn2 b, Zn5 a, and 2 b revealed rigorous pi-pi stacking and extremely hydrophobic interactions. Other the other hand, the strong aggregation of 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins in solution was also found. Interestingly, the regular nanopore formation of the 5-fluoroalkylporphyrin was visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Importantly, the 5-fluoroalkylporphyrins possess liquid-crystalline properties that were confirmed by using a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM) techniques. By comparison, the self-assembly of non-fluorine-containing porphyrins with similar structure showed much lower aggregation ability, as investigated by NMR techniques. Additionally, no birefringent mesophase was observed for the non-fluorine-containing porphyrin.     

Orientational correlations in molecular liquid SnI4

The total scattering structure factor of liquid tin tetraiodide (SnI(4)) has been interpreted by means of reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling. From the sets of particle coordinates provided by RMC, which are consistent with experimental results within errors, partial radial distribution functions as well as correlation functions characterizing mutual orientations of molecules as a function of distance between molecular centers can be calculated. Interestingly and very much in contrast to liquids of symmetric XCl(4) molecules, the corner-to-face (or "Apollo")-type orientation of neighboring molecules has a significant (about 20%) occurrence in liquid SnI(4). Via comparison with a reference system, obtained by hard sphere Monte Carlo simulation, we demonstrate that intermolecular two-body correlations in liquid SnI(4) are determined largely by excluded volume (steric) effects; that is, intermolecular two-body interactions play only a minor role. On the other hand, as it is manifested in the large difference between the reference and "real" systems in terms of the orientational correlations, higher order interactions are indispensable. This feature can explain the extremely rich phase behavior of SnI(4) at high pressures.     

Dielectric properties of a hydrogen-bonded liquid-crystalline side-chain polymer

The dielectric properties of a hydrogen-bonded side-chain liquid-crystalline polysiloxane have been examined over wide ranges of frequency and temperature. This polymer has a side-chain mesogenic moiety consisting of a benzoic acid and a stilbazole. The observed dielectric loss curves contain a component from dipole reorientation of the hydrogen-bonded mesogenic group. It has been found to be possible that, using electrical and thermal treatments, such a polymer built through hydrogen bonding can align homeotropically.     

Orientational ordering in the nematic phase of 4-alkyl-4'-cyanobicyclohexanes

The orientational ordering of three liquid crystals (trans,trans-4-n-alkyl-4'-cyanobicyclohexanes) has been investigated using ¹³C NMR. 2D proton-encoded local field spectroscopy was used to determine the ¹³C-¹H dipolar coupling constants, from which the order parameters were calculated. Semi-empirical linear relations between the obtained order parameters and anisotropic ¹³C chemical shifts were established. It was found that the order parameters of the major axis of the cyclohexane rings are smaller than those of liquid crystals with phenyl rings, and the order parameters of the C-H bonds in the aliphatic chains also behave differently.     

Orientational ordering in the nematic phase of 4-alkyl-4'-cyanobicyclohexanes

The orientational ordering of three liquid crystals (trans,trans-4-n-alkyl-4'-cyanobicyclohexanes) has been investigated using ¹³C NMR. 2D proton-encoded local field spectroscopy was used to determine the ¹³C-¹H dipolar coupling constants, from which the order parameters were calculated. Semi-empirical linear relations between the obtained order parameters and anisotropic ¹³C chemical shifts were established. It was found that the order parameters of the major axis of the cyclohexane rings are smaller than those of liquid crystals with phenyl rings, and the order parameters of the C-H bonds in the aliphatic chains also behave differently.     

Orientational disorder in 4‐chloronitrobenzene

The crystal structure of 4‐chloronitrobenzene, C₆H₄ClNO₂, a material that exhibits disorder in the solid state, is re‐examined using multiple‐temperature single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Our results show a marked improvement on previous crystal structure determinations and our comprehensive multiple temperature measurements help to rationalize the structural anomalies. 4‐Chloronitrobenzene exhibits twofold orientational disorder of the NO₂/Cl substituents, with the molecule lying across an inversion centre. There is also evidence of large thermal motion, which exists at all temperatures and reflects the presence of significant disorder in this material. The nitro group shows possible libration, with one O atom exhibiting larger thermal motion than the other across the whole temperature range. This is explained by a difference in hydrogen‐bonding environment.     

Mesophase structure and some properties of liquid-crystalline organoelement polymers

The structure and physico-mechanical properties of polyphosphazene, poly(trimethylvinylsilane) and blends of polyphosphazene with polyethylene were studied. It was shown that these organoelement homopolymers form mesophase structure which can be described as condis-crystal, and mesophase polymers are effective modifiers when mixed as blends with polyethylene, allowing to make processing more effective and obtain composites with improved mechanical properties.     

The thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline properties of acetoacetoxypropyl cellulose

Acetoacetoxypropyl cellulose, formed by the acetoacetylation of hydroxypropyl cellulose using a diketene/acetone adduct at elevated temperature, forms both thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases. DSC and hot-stage polarized light microscopy confirmed the thermotropic nature of the bulk polymer. Thin layers showed green reflection colors at room temperature. The wavelength λ₀ of selective reflection was measured spectrophotometrically. The crystalline structure of the polymer was investigated using x-ray diffraction. A lyotropic mesophase formed in acetic acid at ≥ 40 wt% polymer. The value of λ₀ for the lyotropic cholesteric mesophase was determined by optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) and circular dichroism (CD) of a thin layer of a wholly anisotropic solution.