Photochemically and Thermally Driven Full‐Color Reflection in a Self‐Organized Helical Superstructure Enabled by a Halogen‐Bonded Chiral Molecular Switch |
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Authors: | Hao Wang Dr Hari Krishna Bisoyi Dr Ling Wang Dr Augustine M Urbas Dr Timothy J Bunning Prof Quan Li |
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Institution: | 1. Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA;2. Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA |
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Abstract: | Supramolecular approaches toward the fabrication of functional materials and systems have been an enabling endeavor. Recently, halogen bonding has been harnessed as a promising supramolecular tool. Herein we report the synthesis and characterization of a novel halogen‐bonded light‐driven axially chiral molecular switch. The photoactive halogen‐bonded chiral switch is able to induce a self‐organized, tunable helical superstructure, that is, cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC), when doped into an achiral liquid crystal (LC) host. The halogen‐bonded switch as a chiral dopant has a high helical twisting power (HTP) and shows a large change of its HTP upon photoisomerization. This light‐driven dynamic modulation enables reversible selective reflection color tuning across the entire visible spectrum. The chiral switch also displays a temperature‐dependent HTP change that enables thermally driven red, green, and blue (RGB) reflection colors in the self‐organized helical superstructure. |
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Keywords: | chiral molecular switch color reflection halogen bonding helical superstructures stimuli-responsive materials |
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