The unique physical properties of the hydrogen bonded in dimers liquid crystals

Abstract

The unique physical properties of the hydrogen bonded in dimers liquid crystals Abstract. The dimerization of aromatic carboxylic acids, is the base of the structure formation of hydrogen bonded in dimers liquid crystals (HBDLCs), that exhibit non-conventional mesomorphism. The structural units of these LCs are amphiphilic-type molecules, which after suitable functionalization, induce supramolecular complexes, nanocomposites based on HBDLCs. The liquid crystalline character of the nanocomposites strongly dependent on intermolecular hydrogen bonds between symmetric, where the H-donors and H acceptors are contained in similar and non-symmetric HBDLCs, where the H-donors and H acceptors are contained in unlike molecules. The strength and non-covalent character of the hydrogen bonds provides both sufficient HBDLCs complex stability and bonding flexibility with a possibility to design and drive the supramolecular geometry. We investigated a series of nanocomposites produced by mixture of HBDLC (p-n-alkyloxybenzoic acid -nOBA), serving as matrices, with non-mesogenic (single walled carbon nanotubes -SWCNTs, hydroxypiridine -HOPY) and mesogenic (cholesteryl benzoate -ChB) nano-particles in various shapes and sizes. A set of new chiral ferroelectric phases were found in the nanocomposites, otherwise do not appearing in the pristine achiral HBDLCs materials. A molecular model of an unique low-temperature ferroelectric smectic phase C based on the molecular dimer ring symmetry reduction (bent dimer formation) towards to the lowest triclinic one is presented for both symmetric and nonsymmetric supramolecular liquid crystal complexes.