Liquid‐Crystalline Ordering as a Concept in Materials Science: From Semiconductors to Stimuli‐Responsive Devices

While the unique optical properties of liquid crystals (LCs) are already well exploited for flat‐panel displays, their intrinsic ability to self‐organize into ordered mesophases, which are intermediate states between crystal and liquid, gives rise to a broad variety of additional applications. The high degree of molecular order, the possibility for large scale orientation, and the structural motif of the aromatic subunits recommend liquid‐crystalline materials as organic semiconductors, which are solvent‐processable and can easily be deposited on a substrate. The anisotropy of liquid crystals can further cause a stimuli‐responsive macroscopic shape change of cross‐linked polymer networks, which act as reversibly contracting artificial muscles. After illustrating the concept of liquid‐crystalline order in this Review, emphasis will be placed on synthetic strategies for novel classes of LC materials, and the design and fabrication of active devices.     

Self-assembled second order nonlinear optical multilayer azo polymer

An epoxy based polymer with nonlinear optical azo chromophores was designed to contain anionic groups to induce water solubility and self assembly. Using this polyanion with a polycation, multilayers were prepared on a glass substrate by alternating adsorption from dilute aqueous solutions. The azo chromophores in the confined layer of the polyanion in the multilayer films self-assemble into a noncentrosymmetric alignment and demonstrate second order optical nonlinearity (d₃₃ = 19 pm/V).     

Liquid‐Crystalline Biomacromolecular Templates for the Formation of Oriented Thin‐Film Hybrids Composed of Ordered Chitin and Alkaline‐Earth Carbonate

Macroscopically ordered inorganic thin films have been formed on unidirectionally oriented, liquid‐crystalline chitin matrices. In the presence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), unidirectionally oriented chitin films act as templates for the formation of oriented thin‐film crystals of alkaline‐earth carbonates such as SrCO₃ and BaCO₃. The morphology and orientation of crystals are dependent on the metal ion concentration. For SrCO₃ crystallization, unidirectional thin films and hexagonal‐shaped thin films have been deposited from 200 and 25 mm concentration strontium solutions, respectively.     

Layer-by-layer deposited organic/inorganic hybrid multilayer films containing noncentrosymmetrically orientated azobenzene chromophores

Organic/inorganic hybrid multilayer films with noncentrosymmetrically orientated azobenzene chromophores were fabricated by the sequential deposition of ZrO2 layers by a surface sol-gel process and subsequent layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption of the nonlinear optical (NLO)-active azobenzene-containing polyanion PAC-azoBNS and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). Noncentrosymmetric orientation of the NLO-active azobenzene chromophores was achieved because of the strong repulsion between the negatively charged ZrO(2) and the sulfonate groups of the azobenzene chromophore in PAC-azoBNS. Regular deposition of ZrO(2)/PAC-azoBNS/PDDA multilayer films was verified by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance measurements. Both UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements confirmed the noncentrosymmetric orientation of the azobenzene chromophores in the as-prepared ZrO2/PAC-azoBNS/PDDA multilayer films. The square root of the SHG signal (I(2omega)(1/2)) increases with the increase of the azobenzene graft ratio in PAC-azoBNS as the number of deposition cycles of the ZrO(2)/PAC-azoBNS/PDDA films remains the same, while the second-order susceptibility chi(zzz)(2) of the film decreases with the increase of the azobenzene graft ratio. Furthermore, the present method was successfully extended to realize the noncentrosymmetric orientation of azobenzene chromophores in multilayer films when small organic azobenzene compounds with carboxylic acid and/or hydroxyl groups at one end and sulfonate groups at the other end were used. The present method was characterized by its simplicity and flexibility in film preparation, and it is anticipated to be a facile way to fabricate second-order nonlinear optical film materials.     

Micromanipulation of Mechanically Compliant Organic Single‐Crystal Optical Microwaveguides

Flexible organic single crystals are evolving as new materials for optical waveguides that can be used for transfer of information in organic optoelectronic microcircuits. Integration in microelectronics of such crystalline waveguides requires downsizing and precise spatial control over their shape and size at the microscale, however that currently is not possible due to difficulties with manipulation of these small, brittle objects that are prone to cracking and disintegration. Here we demonstrate that atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to reshape, resize and relocate single‐crystal microwaveguides in order to attain spatial control over their light output. Using an AFM cantilever tip, mechanically compliant acicular microcrystals of three N‐benzylideneanilines were bent to an arbitrary angle, sliced out from a bundle into individual crystals, cut into shorter crystals of arbitrary length, and moved across and above a solid surface. When excited by using laser light, such bent microcrystals act as active optical microwaveguides that transduce their fluorescence, with the total intensity of transduced light being dependent on the optical path length. This micromanipulation of the crystal waveguides using AFM is non‐invasive, and after bending their emissive spectral output remains unaltered. The approach reported here effectively overcomes the difficulties that are commonly encountered with reshaping and positioning of small delicate objects (the “thick fingers” problem), and can be applied to mechanically reconfigure organic optical waveguides in order to attain spatial control over their output in two and three dimensions in optical microcircuits.     

Simultaneous Presence of Both Open Metal Sites and Free Functional Organic Sites in a Noncentrosymmetric Dynamic Metal–Organic Framework with Bimodal Catalytic and Sensing Activities

Assimilation of open metal sites (OMSs) and free functional organic sites (FOSs) with a framework strut has opened up a new route for the fabrication of novel metal–organic materials, thereby providing a unique opportunity to explore their multiple functionalities. A new metal–organic framework (MOF), {[Cu(ina)₂(H₂O)][Cu(ina)₂(bipy)]?2 H₂O}_n ( 1 ) (ina=isonicotinate, bipy=4,4′‐bipyridine), has been synthesized and characterized. Complex 1 is crystallized in the orthorhombic noncentrosymmetric space group Aba2 and consists of two different 2D coordination polymers, [Cu(ina)₂(H₂O)]_n and [Cu(ina)₂(bipy)]_n, with entrapped solvent water molecules. Hydrogen‐bonding interactions assemble these two different 2D coordination layers in a single‐crystal structure with interdigitation of pendant 4,4′‐bipy from one layer into the groove of another. Upon removal of guest molecules, 1 undergoes a structural transformation in single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal fashion with expansion of the effective void space. Each metal center is five‐coordinated and thus can potentially behave as an OMS, and the free pyridyl groups of pendant 4,4′‐bipy moieties and free ? C?O groups can act as free FOSs. Thus, owing to presence of both OMSs and free FOSs, the framework exhibits multifunctional properties. Owing to the presence of OMSs, the framework can act as a Lewis acid catalyst as well as a small‐molecule sensor material, and in a similar way, owing to the presence of free FOSs, it performs as a Lewis base catalyst and a cation sensor material. Furthermore, owing to noncentrosymmetry with large polarity along a particular direction, it shows strong second‐harmonic generation/nonlinear optical (SHG‐NLO) activity.     

Side chain liquid crystalline polymers: Electric field effects and nonlinear properties

Side chain liquid crystalline polymers offer unique advantages as a new class of organic materials with potential for nonlinear optical response. Synthesis of a number of cyanobiphenyl-based side chain polymers was carried out employing the concept of having the cyanobiphenyl species serve concomitantly as both the linear optical chromophore and the mesogenic moiety in the polymer. The thermal behavior of these polymers was studied by DSC, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Thin polymeric films were spin coated and electric field poling measurements were carried out as a function of temperature. The second harmonic (SH) coefficients d₃₃ and d₃₁ were measured by Maker fringe analysis and compared with the values predicted by molecular statistical models. The results showed that one can gain in net polar ordering by starting with a liquid crystalline system. The enhancement in d₃₃ when < P<₂ > = 0,6 was found to be a factor of 2,3-3,3 over the isotropic case ( P<₂ > = 0). The relaxation process was investigated. Both the presence of liquid crystal character in the material and the temperature at which the films were stored below Tg appeared important in determining the thermal stability of the SH coefficients.     

Nonlinear optical properties of some side chain copolymers based on benzoxazole containing chromophores

Acrylate‐methylmethacrylate copolymers have been synthesized for nonlinear optical applications. Acrylate monomer units are characterized by the presence in the side chain of phenylbenzoxazole groups containing electron donor‐electron acceptor substituents. The phase behavior of all polymers has been investigated by DSC, X‐ray diffraction and polarizing microscopy: two of them exhibit liquid crystalline behavior of smectic type. For four polymers, nonlinear optical properties have been examined by second harmonic generation measurements on thin films (∼ 1 μm thickness) electrically poled by corona discharge. Second order susceptibility coefficients d₃₃ and average relaxation times 〈τ〉, relative to the time stability of the chromophore poling, have been measured. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 603–608, 1999     

DNA‐Based Polymers as Chiral Templates for Second‐Order Nonlinear Optical Materials

The unique symmetry properties of chiral systems allow the emergence of coherent second harmonic generation in polymeric materials lacking polar order. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) treated with the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium (CTMA) was drop‐cast to spontaneously form films that are active for coherent second harmonic generation (SHG). SHG images acquired as a function of incident and exigent polarization are in good agreement with theoretical predictions assuming nonpolar D_∞ symmetry for the double‐stranded DNA chains. Doping the DNA films with crystal violet substantially increases the efficiency of SHG, but does not significantly alter the polarization‐dependence, suggesting that the SHG generated upon doping arises from the same chiral‐specific origin, presumably templated by the DNA. These results raise the possibility of new design strategies for organic nonlinear optical materials based on soft chiral polymers that do not require polar order.     

Strongly non-linear optical ferroelectric liquid crystals for frequency doubling

Abstract

From our research for novel non-linear optical (NLO) materials for frequency doublers and optical modulators we report on new ferroelectric liquid crystals, which for the first time, exhibit second order NLO coefficients (for example d ₂₂ = 5 pm V^?1, which are comparable to those of state of the art inorganic NLO materials. The novel compounds contain 5-amino-2-nitrophenyl groups attached close to the chiral centres. The switching behaviour of the new compounds, their spontaneous polarization, as well as their frequency doubling of Nd:YAG laser pulses in the S*_c and in the glass state, are reported. Moreover their waveguiding properties are presented.     

Preparation of stable second‐order nonlinear optical films by sol–gel technique

A stable nonlinear optical (NLO) film containing “T” type alkoxysilane dye was prepared by sol–gel technology. This crosslinked “T” type alkoxysilane dye was synthesized and fully characterized by FTIR, UV–Vis spectra, and ¹H‐NMR. Followed by hydrolysis and copolymerization processes of the alkoxysilane with γ‐glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH560) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), high quality inorganic–organic hybrid second‐order NLO films were obtained by spin coating. The “T” type structure of the alkoxysilane was found to be effective for improving the temporal stability of the optical nonlinearity due to the reduction in the relaxation of the chromophore in the film materials. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Threading Chalcogenide Layers with Polymer Chains

Inserting polymers into a crystalline inorganic matrix to understand the structure, position, and the structure–property relationships of the resulting composites is important for designing new inorganic‐organic materials and tuning their properties. Single crystals of polymer‐chalcogenide composites were successfully prepared by trapping polyethyleneglycol within a selenidostannate matrix under surfactant‐thermal conditions. This work might provide a new strategy for preparing novel crystalline polymer‐inorganic composites through encapsulating polymer chains within inorganic matrices.     

Two‐Dimensional Fullerene Assembly from an Exfoliated van der Waals Template

Two‐dimensional (2D) materials are commonly prepared by exfoliating bulk layered van der Waals crystals. The creation of synthetic 2D materials from bottom‐up methods is an important challenge as their structural flexibility will enable chemists to tune the materials properties. A 2D material was assembled using C₆₀ as a polymerizable monomer. The C₆₀ building blocks are first assembled into a layered solid using a molecular cluster as structure director. The resulting hierarchical crystal is used as a template to polymerize its C₆₀ monolayers, which can be exfoliated down to 2D crystalline nanosheets. Derived from the parent template, the 2D structure is composed of a layer of inorganic cluster, sandwiched between two monolayers of polymerized C₆₀. The nanosheets can be transferred onto solid substrates and depolymerized by heating. Electronic absorption spectroscopy reveals an optical gap of 0.25 eV, narrower than that of the bulk parent crystalline solid.     

Advances in Metal‐Free Heterocycle‐Based Columnar Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystals are ordered soft materials formed by self‐organized molecules and can potentially be used as new functional materials for electron‐, ion‐ or molecular‐transport; optical; and bio‐active materials. In particular, the columnar liquid crystals are promising candidates used in various optical and electronic devices. For this purpose, design and synthesis of unconventional materials are essential. In this review, we have summarized several approaches for the synthesis of columnar liquid crystals composed of various heterocyclic systems. We also outline their liquid crystalline and other relevant properties, and their suitability for applications in diverse fields.     

Uncovering the Intramolecular Emission and Tuning the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Materials by Cocrystallization

The spectroscopic and photophysical properties of organic materials in the solid‐state are widely accepted as a result of their molecular packing structure and intermolecular interactions, such as J‐ and H‐aggregation, charge‐transfer (CT), excimer and exciplex. However, in this work, we show that Spe‐F₄DIB cocrystals (SFCs) surprisingly retain the energy levels of photoluminescence (PL) states of Spe crystals, despite a significantly altered molecular packing structure after cocrystallization. In comparison, Npe‐F₄DIB cocrystals (NFCs) with new spectroscopic states display different spectra and photophysical behaviors as compared with those of individual component crystals. These may be related to the molecular configuration in crystals, and we propose Spe as an “intramolecular emissive” material, thus providing a new viewpoint on light‐emitting species of organic chromophores. Moreover, the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of Npe and Spe are firstly demonstrated and modulated by cocrystallization. The established “molecule‐packing‐property” relationship helps to rationally control the optical properties of organic materials through cocrystallization.     

Low loss second‐order non‐linear optical crosslinked polymers based on a phosphorus‐containing maleimide

A series of crossslinked organic and organic/inorganic polymers based on maleimide chemistry have been investigated for second‐order non‐linear optical (NLO) materials with excellent thermal stability and low optical loss. Two reactive chromophores (maleimide‐containing azobenzene dye and alkoxysilane‐containing azobenzene dye) were incorporated into a phosphorus‐containing maleimide polymer, respectively. The selection of the phosphorus‐containing maleimide polymer as the polymeric matrices provides enhanced solubility and thermal stability, and excellent optical quality. Moreover, a full interpenetrating network (IPN) was formed through simultaneous addition reaction of the phosphorus‐containing maleimide, and sol‐gel process of alkoxysilane dye (ASD). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) results indicate that the inorganic networks are distributed uniformly throughout the polymer matrices on a nano‐scale. The silica particle sizes are well under 100 nm. Using in situ contact poling, the r₃₃ coefficients of 2.2–17.0 pm/V have been obtained for the optically clear phosphorus‐containing NLO materials. Excellent temporal stability (100°C) and low optical loss (0.99–1.71 dB/cm; 830 nm) were also obtained for these phosphorus‐containing materials. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular manipulation of solid state structure: influences of organic components on vanadium oxide architectures

Among the inorganic materials enjoying widespread contemporary interest, the metal oxide based solid phases occupy a prominent position by virtue of their applications to catalysis, sorption, molecular electronics, energy storage, optical materials and ceramics. The diversity of properties associated with these materials reflects the chemical composition, which allows variations in covalency, geometry and oxidation states, and the crystalline architecture, which may provide different pore structures, coordination sites, or juxtapositions of functional groups. Despite such fundamental and practical significance, the design of the structure of such materials remains a challenge in solid state chemistry. While organic materials have been synthesized which self-assemble into ordered arrays at low temperature and which exhibit molecular recognition and biomimetic activity, the ability to synthesize inorganic materials by rational design remains elusive. Small, soluble molecular building blocks with well-defined reaction chemistries which allow their low-temperature assembly into crystalline solid state inorganic materials are not well known. However, the existence of naturally occurring, structurally complex minerals establishes that hydrothermal synthesis can provide a low temperature pathway to produce open-framework and layered metastable structures utilizing inorganic starting materials. Thus, hydrothermal conditions have been used to prepare microporous tetrahedral framework solids that are capable of shape-selective absorption, like zeolites and aluminophosphates, and more recently in the preparation of complex solid arrays of the M/O/PO³⁻₄ and M/O/RPO²⁻₃ systems (M=V and Mo). The hydrothermal technique may be combined with the introduction of organic components which may act as charge compensating groups, space-filling units, structure directing agents, templates, tethers between functional groups, or conventional ligands in the preparation of inorganic/organic composites.In the past decade, this general strategy has been exploited in the evolution of a family of vanadium oxides incorporating structure-directing organic or secondary-metal organic subunits, which are the topic of this review. The synthetic approach to novel vanadium oxide solids occupies the interface between materials science and coordination chemistry. The emerging theme focuses on the association of an organic component, acting as a ligand, tether, or structure directing moiety, with the inorganic framework of the solid to provide unique composites. While some organic components may limit the size of inorganic cluster subunits of a solid by passivating the surface of an aggregate through capping, such ligands may also serve to link inorganic subunits into complex networks. In other cases, the organic subunit, rather than participating as a covalently bound unit of the framework, acts in a structure directing role, producing amphiphilic materials whose structures are determined by hydrophobic–hydrophilic interactions. This latter feature is reminiscent of the factors influencing biomineralization, a field which may prove relevant to the development of new strategies for the controlled synthesis of organized inorganic and organic/inorganic composite materials. These various approaches to the “design” of inorganic solids are discussed and assessed in terms of the new structural types recently observed in the vanadium oxide chemistry.     

Nonlinear Optical Switching in Regioregular Porphyrin Covalent Organic Frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have garnered immense scientific interest among porous materials because of their structural tunability and diverse properties. However, the response of such materials toward laser‐induced nonlinear optical (NLO) applications is hardly understood and demands prompt attention. Three novel regioregular porphyrin (Por)‐based porous COFs—Por‐COF‐HH and its dual metalated congeners Por‐COF‐ZnCu and Por‐COF‐ZnNi—have been prepared and present excellent NLO properties. Notably, intensity‐dependent NLO switching behavior was observed for these Por‐COFs, which is highly desirable for optical switching and optical limiting devices. Moreover, the efficient π‐conjugation and charge‐transfer transition in ZnCu‐Por‐COF enabled a high nonlinear absorption coefficient (β=4470 cm/GW) and figure of merit (FOM=σ₁/σ_o, 3565) value compared to other state‐of‐the‐art materials, including molecular porphyrins (β≈100–400 cm/GW), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs; β≈0.3–0.5 cm/GW), and graphene (β=900 cm/GW).     

Preparation and photophysical properties of monomeric liquid-crystalline azo-dyes embedded in bulk and film SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-sonogel glasses

SiO₂-based bulk and film sol–gel hybrid materials were prepared with a family of novel liquid crystalline (LC) amphiphilic azo-dyes bearing oligo(ethylene glycol) spacers (named here RED-PEG-n, n = 2, 3, 4, 6). The catalyst-free-sonogel route was implemented to produce optically active hybrid monoliths and spin-coated films with these materials. Comprehensive morphological, thermal, photo-acoustic and spectroscopic sample characterizations were performed in order to elucidate the physical properties of these novel compounds within the sonogel environment. Film samples were also studied via the nonlinear optical (NLO) second harmonic generation (SHG)-Maker fringes technique. Results show that the chromophores were homogeneously embedded within the highly pure SiO₂-sonogel network, showing a clear thermotropic mesogenic behavior. The push–pull structure of the implemented azo-dyes allowed effective electrically-induced monomeric alignment within the sonogel confinement; thus, stable quadratic NLO-SHG-activity in the organic–inorganic film samples was achieved despite the lack of glass transition temperature (T _g ) of the guest LC-compounds.     

Electron Transport of Photoconductive n‐Type Liquid Crystals Based on a Redox‐Active Tetraazanaphthacene Framework

The preparation of two liquid crystals composed of a redox‐active tetraazanaphthacene (TANC) framework is reported. The materials form smectic A (SmA) thin‐film liquid‐crystalline (LC) phases over a wide temperature range. Cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed that LC TANCs behave as organic electron acceptors. The electron mobilities of the thin films were determined by time‐ of‐flight (TOF) measurements, which are the order of 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in the SmA LC phase. This value is two orders of magnitude larger than those of amorphous organic semiconductors. To the best of our knowledge, very few reports exist on the electron‐transporting behaviors of LC N‐heteroacene semiconductors.