Abstract
A polymesomorphic thermal phase-transition of a macrocyclic amphiphile consisting of aromatic groups and oligoethylene glycol (OEG) chains is reported. The macrocyclic amphiphile exists in a highly-ordered liquid crystal (LC) phase at room temperature. Upon heating, this macrocycle shows phase-transition from columnar-lamellar to nematic LC phases followed by crystallization before melting. Spectroscopic studies suggest that the thermally induced crystallization is triggered by a conformational change at the OEG chains. Interestingly, while the macrocycle returns to the columnar-lamellar phase after cooling from the isotropic liquid, it retains the crystallinity after cooling from the thermally-induced crystal. Thanks to this bistability, conductance switching was successfully demonstrated. A different macrocyclic amphiphile also shows an analogous phase-transition behavior, suggesting that this molecular design is universal for developing switchable and memorizable materials, by means of hysteretic phase-transition processes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 141-148 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Chemistry - An Asian Journal |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 Jan 4 |
Keywords
- amphiphiles
- isomerization
- liquid crystals
- macrocycles
- polymorphisms
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Organic Chemistry