1B02 Mechanism for Construction of Discotic Liquid Crystals by Hierarchical Molecular Assembly of Rod-like Molecules

Abstract

1,3-Alkadiynyl-4-benzoic acids (mPhDAs) as the rod-like diacetylene compounds exhibited columnar mesophases by hierarchical supramolecular self-organization, while 4-alkoxybenzoic acids (mOBAs) as the saturated carboxylic acids exhibited calamitic mesophases. In this study, we revealed the liquid crystal structures of the mixed system of mPhDA and mOBA and a mechanism for the formation of columnar and calamitic mesophases, which could be converted to each other, depending on their composition and temperature. We directly observed the process of transformation between calamitic and discotic mesophases in order to clarify the mechanism of hierarchical supramolecular liquid crystalline system using the diacetylene carboxylic acid as the building block.