A new class of low molar mass chiral metallomesogens: synthesis and characterization

Abstract

We report on the synthesis and evaluation of a new class of low molar mass chiral metallomesogens containing cholesterol based N-(n-alkyl)salicylideneamines coordinated in a bidentate fashion that exhibit monotropic chiral nematic (N*) and smectic A* (SmA*) phases. Copper complex with a wide range of N* phase metallomesogen was investigated for chiro-optical property by Circular Dichroism (CD) spectropolarimeter. Electrical parameters like ionisation potential (IP) and electron affinity (EA) were estimated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments, which enable us to understand the redox behaviour of these metallomesogens. The energy gap (ΔE) between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) estimated by both CV and UV experiments are comparable, which implies that these complexes possess electrochemical activity.