Construction of tubular superstuructures using cyclic supramolecular liquid crystalline molecules

Abstract

We synthesized the novel molecules, 3,4-Dialkoxy-5-(4-pyridinylmethoxy)-benzoic acids, possessing two hydrogen bonding sites (i.e. pyridine and carboxyl). We expected that self-assembly tubular superstructures were constructed by controlling sites of donor and accepter. These molecules exhibited a columnar hexagonal phases. Their phase transition behaviors were investigated by polarized light optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimeter. Furthermore, their tubular superstructures were analyzed by X-ray diffraction.