Bisphenylsulfone-based molecular assemblies: polar columnar liquid crystals aligned in electric fields and fibrous aggregates in organic solvents

Abstract

Bisphenylsulfone-based hexacatenal molecules self-assemble to form thermotropic columnar liquid-crystalline phases through the dipole–dipole interactions of sulfonyl groups and nanosegregation of aliphatic and aromatic moieties. The vertical alignment of the columns has been achieved by applying electric fields to the samples sandwiched between ITO substrates. In addition, organogels are obtained by the formation of the self-assembled fibrous aggregates of a sulfone derivative in organic solvents such as dodecylbenzene. The dipole–dipole interactions of the sulfonyl moieties play a key role in the formation of these one-dimensional molecular assemblies.