Abstract
Liquid-crystalline behavior and optical property of novel ionic liquid crystals, which are surfactant complexes containing rare-earth ions, were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The rare-earth complexes were found to show a smectic A (S_A) phase in which a homeotropic structure was formed spontaneously. It is significant that the rare-earth complexes exhibit a stable liquid-crystalline phase and a simple phase transition behavior in comparison with the parent compounds without rare-earth ions. In addition, it was demonstrated that the complexes form a unique structure in the self-organization. Such rare-earth-containing liquid crystals will be expected to act as new light-emitting materials in optoelectronic device applications.
