Issue 39, 2021

Dual crystalline–amorphous salen–metal complexes behave like nematic droplets with AIEgens vistas

Abstract

A series of metal salen complexes, original in view of the presence in their structure of a highly flexible and hydrophobic spacer, were prepared on the basis of the reaction of 1,3-bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyldisiloxane with 3,5-dichloro-, 3,5-dibromo- and 3-hydroxy-salicylaldehyde and various metal ions (Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+). The isolated products were completely characterized from the structural point of view by FTIR, NMR, elemental analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction, and further investigated from the perspective of the behavior induced mainly by the structural peculiarities. Emphasis is placed on self-assembly properties, both in bulk and in solution, depending on temperature, solvent nature and concentration, including thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals (LC). LCs that appear in the form of nematic toroidal droplets have been fully demonstrated by polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and fluorescence anisotropy studies. The fluorescence analysis results revealed the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon, where the emission occurs only for liquid crystals, with a few exceptions. Because these complexes can exist in both amorphous and crystalline states, it raised the question of how properties, such as electrical, change when switching from one state to another. These were well highlighted by DSC, BDS, PXRD, FTIR and fluorescence anisotropy.

Graphical abstract: Dual crystalline–amorphous salen–metal complexes behave like nematic droplets with AIEgens vistas

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Jūn. 2021
Accepted
20 Aug. 2021
First published
20 Aug. 2021

Dalton Trans., 2021,50, 13841-13858

Dual crystalline–amorphous salen–metal complexes behave like nematic droplets with AIEgens vistas

M. Damoc, A. Stoica, M. Dascalu, M. Asandulesa, S. Shova and M. Cazacu, Dalton Trans., 2021, 50, 13841 DOI: 10.1039/D1DT01980E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements