A New Family of Polymerizable Lyotropic Liquid Crystals: Control of Feature Size in Cross-Linked Inverted Hexagonal Assemblies via Monomer Structure
作者:Mary A. Reppy、David H. Gray、Brad A. Pindzola、Juston L. Smithers、Douglas L. Gin
DOI:10.1021/ja002462i
日期:2001.1.1
An efficient and versatile synthesis of a series of polymerizable amphiphilic mesogens that affords control over tail length and position of the :polymerizable group is described. The synthesis employs a novel and facile method of preparing styrene ethers. The monomers are sadium salts of styrene ether-modified fatty acids that can be used to form cross-linkable inverted hexagonal (H-II) lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) phases at ambient temperature with controllable nanometer-scale dimensions. Examination of a series of regioisomers with the same alkyl chain length but with the styrene: ether group at different locations along the chain revealed that the position of the styrene ether has a profound effect on the dimensions of the resulting HII phase at a fixed temperature and composition. Increasing overall monomer tail length also has a significant, although smaller, effect on the unit cell dimensions of the LLC phase. By controlling the structure of the LLC monomer in this manner, cross-linked HII phases with interchannel distances (ICD) ranging from 29 to 54 Angstrom can be obtained. Furthermore, changing the counterion from Na+ to tetraalkylammonium ions leads to further expansion of the H-II unit cell to a maximum ICD of 65 Angstrom, as well as to the production of a lamellar phase. Use of these monomers affords a new and unparalleled degree of control over phase structure and dimensions for the production of nanostructured organic materials.