Hydrogen-bonded liquid crystals formed from 4-alkoxystilbazoles and chlorophenols

Oliver D. Johnson, Stephen G. Wainwright, Adrian C. Whitwood, Duncan W. Bruce*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Hydrogen-bonded complexes are formed between two chain lengths of 4-alkoxystilbazoles and six different chlorophenols. Single crystal structure determinations were possible for four of the complexes, all of which showed a similar dimeric motif in which two chlorophenols formed a loose back-to-back dimer with a stilbazole hydrogen-bonded at either side. Two of the complexes showed similarities in their three-dimensional packing. Liquid crystal properties were found for all complexes except those containing pentachlorophenol. The phase behaviour of the longer-chain dodecyloxystilbazole complexes was dominated by the observation of the smectic A phase, while both nematic and smectic A phases were found for the octyloxy homologues. The mesophase stability was appreciably lower in these new complexes when compared with fluorophenol analogues reported previously, attributed to a reduction in anisotropy on account of the effects of the greater size of chlorine compared with fluorine.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2778-2788
Number of pages11
JournalCrystEngComm
Volume25
Early online date14 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 May 2023

Bibliographical note

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023

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