Amplification of supramolecular chirality in a dark conglomerate phase of achiral liquid-crystalline trimers.

Abstract

We prepared a mixture of an achiral liquid-crystalline trimer, a reactive monomer and a photo-initiator. The mixture exhibited a chiral dark conglomerate (DC) phase on cooling from isotropic liquid. After being exposed to UV irradiation in the DC phase, it was heated again to isotropic liquid and then cooled to room temperature. The mixture showed the DC phase with homochirality. The supramolecular chirality was found to be amplified by the polymer network. We investigated the nanostructures of the polymer network using SEM to discuss the mechanism of chirality amplification.