US EPA

4580127 

Journal Article 

2-D Columnar Assemblies of Diblock Rod-Coil Molecules Incorporating Cholesteryl Group 

Liu, Y; Pei, Y; Wang, Z; Cui, J; Chen, Tie; Xu, J; Jin, LYi 

2014 

Yes 

Asian Journal of Chemistry
ISSN: 0970-7077
EISSN: 0975-427X 

26 

4 

1127-1132 

WOS:000332385200041 

Rod-coil molecules have a strong tendency to self-organize into supra-molecular nanostructures in the bulk state. In this article, we report synthesis and self-assembling behaviour of rod-coil molecules 1-3, consisting of a biphenyl and cholesteryl group as a rod segment and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with a degree of polymerization of 7, 12 and 17 coil segments. Self-organization behaviour of these molecules investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, thermal polarizing optical microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering in the bulk state reveal that volume fraction of PEO coil segments containing alkyl chain of cholesteryl group dramatically influence the self assembling behaviour of rod building block in the liquid crystalline phase. Molecules 1-3 self-assemble into 1-D bilayered structures with different d-spacing according to the lengths of coil domains in the solid state. While, self-organized molecular structures transfer into oblique columnar structure for molecule 1 and 2 from the crystalline to the liquid crystalline phase, further increasing coil to rod volume fraction, molecule 3 self assemble into hexagonal columnar aggregate through pi-pi stacking of rod building blocks. 

Self-assembly; Rod-coil; Small-angle X-ray scattering; Cholesteryl; 2-D Columnar