Hsiu-Fu Hsu

Acid/Base‐ and Anion‐Controllable Organogels Formed From a Urea‐Based Molecular Switch

Low-molecular-weight organogels have applications in several fields, including molecular sensing, nanostructure assembly, and drug delivery. Ideally, these materials would switch reversibly between their solution and gel states through the addition or removal of heat, electrons, or ions. Although these modes of operation are similar to those employed for switches based on interlocked molecules, organogels formed from pseudorotaxaneor rotaxane-type gelators are rare. Indeed, we are aware of only a few previously reported examples, all of which feature long alkyl chains or cholesterol units incorporated into the molecular structures to assist the gelation process. Predicting the molecular structures of potential gelators and their preferred solvents remains difficult, and developing new rotaxane-based gelators that do not feature commonly used types of gelation units (e.g., long alkyl chains, steroids) in their structures is particularly challenging. Herein we report the serendipitous discovery of a urea-based [2]rotaxane that behaves as both a molecular switch and an organogelator; both functions are mediated by acid/base and anion control. The reaction of the macrocycle 1, the amino-terminated salt [2-H][PF6], [7] and the isocyanate 3 in CH3NO2 gave the dumbbell-shaped salt [4-H][PF6] and the [2]rotaxane [5-H][PF6] in 49 and 46% yield, respectively (Scheme 1). The binding constant for the assembly formed from the macrocycle 1 and dibenzylammonium hexafluorophosphate ((DBA)PF6) in CD3NO2 is (300 30)m , and 1 interacts only negligibly with diphenylurea derivatives in this solvent. 8] Therefore we suspected that the interlocked macrocycle in the [2]rotaxane [5-H][PF6] would prefer to encircle the DBA station, rather than the diphenylurea station, when dissolved in CD3NO2. Indeed, the 2D NOESY spectrum of the [2]rotaxane [5-H][PF6] in CD3NO2 shows cross-signals between the ethylene glycol protons of the macrocyclic unit and the aromatic protons of the 3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl stopper adjacent to the DBA center, however, no crosssignals are seen between the macrocyle and the stopper unit adjacent to the urea station. As expected, addition of potassium tert-butoxide (1 equivalent) to a solution of the [2]rotaxane [5-H][PF6] (CD3NO2, 13.6 mm) resulted in significant shifts in the locations of many of the signals in the H NMR spectrum (Figure 1). The significant downfield shift of the signal for the macrocyle NH protons, and the appearance of signals for the formerly severely broadened urea protons suggested the formation of hydrogen bonds to the carbonyl group of the urea station (Figure 1b). The addition of perchloric acid (70% in H2O, 1 equivalent) to this solution afforded a spectrum similar to that of the original [2]rotaxane. These observations suggest that the [2]rotaxane [5-H][X] is an acid/base-controllable molecular switch; the interlocked macrocyclic unit can be Scheme 1. Synthesis and switching of the [2]rotaxane [5-H][PF6].

Mesomorphism and Luminescence Properties of Platinum(II) Complexes with Tris(alkoxy)phenyl‐Functionalized Pyridyl Pyrazolate Chelates

A series of new mesomorphic platinum(II) complexes 1-4 bearing pyridyl pyrazolate chelates are reported herein. In this approach, pyridyl azolate ligands have been strategically functionalized with tris(alkoxy)phenyl groups with various alkyl chain lengths. As a result, they are ascribed to a class of luminescent metallomesogens that possess distinctive morphological properties, such as their intermolecular packing arrangement and their associated photophysical behavior. In CH(2) Cl(2), independent of the applied concentration in the range 10(-6)-10(-3)  M, all Pt(II) complexes exhibit bright phosphorescence centered at around 520 nm, which is characteristic for monomeric Pt(II) complexes. In stark contrast, the single-crystal X-ray structure determination of [Pt(C4pz)(2)] (1) shows the formation of a dimeric aggregate with a notable Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt contact of 3.258 Å. Upon heating, all Pt(II) complexes 1-4 melted to form columnar suprastructures, for which similar intracolumnar Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt distances of approx. 3.4-3.5 Å are observed within an exceptionally wide temperature range (>250 °C), according to the powder XRD data. Upon casting into a neat thin film at RT, the luminescence of 1-4 is dominated by a red emission that spans 630-660 nm, which originates from the one-dimensional, chainlike structure with Pt-Pt interaction in the ground state. Taking complex 4 as a representative, the emission intensity and wavelength were significantly decreased and blueshifted, respectively, on heating from RT to 250 °C. Further heating to liquefy the sample alters the red emission back to the green phosphorescence of the monomer. The results highlight the pivotal role of tris(alkoxy)phenyl groups in the structural versus luminescence behavior of these Pt(II) complexes.

Synthesis, Optical, and Mesomorphic Properties of Self-Assembled Organogels Featuring Phenylethynyl Framework with Elaborated Long-Chain Pyridine-2,6-Dicarboxamides†

A series of new organogelators with pi-conjugated phenylethynyl framework featuring long-chain carboxamides have been synthesized. These organgelators have shown great ability to gel a variety of organic solvents to form stable organogels with the minimum gelation concentration as low as 0.1 wt %. Gelation is completely thermoreversible, and it occurs due to the aggregation of the organogelators resulting in the formation of a fibrous network via a combination of intermolecular hydrogen bonding, pi-pi stacking, and van der Waals interactions that is observed for the xerogels by TEM. The influence of sol-to-gel transition has been explored in detail by variable-temperature 1H NMR, UV-vis absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Aggregation-induced enhanced emission has been observed in these organogelator molecules with an order of higher fluorescence quantum yields from solution to gels. In addition, some molecules also exhibit unique liquid crystalline properties over a large temperature range as revealed by DSC and POM studies.

Formation of columnar liquid crystals on the basis of unconventional triazine-based dendrimers by the C3-symmetric approach.

Two series of unconventional triazine-based dendrimers with C(2) symmetry and C(3) symmetry were prepared. The newly prepared C(3)-symmetrical dendrimers were characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing microscopy, and powder XRD showed that the C(3)-symmetrical dendrimers display columnar liquid-crystalline phases during thermal treatment, but the C(2)-symmetrical dendrimers were not observed to behave correspondingly. The molecular conformations of C(3)- and C(2)-symmetrical dendrimers were obtained by computer simulation with the MM2 model of the CaChe program in the gas phase. The simulation results reasonably explain the different mesogenicities of C(3)- and C(2)-symmetric dendrimers. This new strategy should be applicable to other types of unconventional dendrimers with rigid frameworks for displaying columnar liquid-crystalline behavior.

Enantiotropic Nematics From Cross‐Like 1,2,4,5‐Tetrakis(4′‐alkyl‐4‐ethynylbiphenyl)benzenes and Their Biaxiality Studies

The theoretically predicted optimum length/breadth/width ratio for maximizing shape biaxiality was investigated experimentally by the facile and successful synthesis of cross-shaped compound 3, which showed enantiomeric nematic phase behavior. This cross-like core structure could alternatively be viewed as two fused V-shaped mesogens, which have recently immerged as a new direction in biaxial nematic research, at the bending tips that can act as a new structure for biaxial investigations. Whilst the thermal analysis data of compound 3 did not meet the expected theoretical values for biaxial nematics, surface-induced biaxiality was evidenced by optical studies. Cluster-size analysis within the nematic phase of compound 3 revealed the formation of meta-cybotactic nematics, which approached the cluster sizes of cybotactic nematics. The split small-angle 2D X-ray diffraction patterns of magnetic-field-aligned samples indicated that the nematic phase was composed of small smectic C-like clusters with the tilting of molecules within the clusters. The wide-temperature-range enantiomeric nematic phase of cross-like compound 3 enabled the molecular skeleton to serve as an alternative skeleton to bent-rod mesogens, which exhibited nematic phases with the potential competition of transitions to higher-order liquid-crystalline phases and crystallization, for future biaxial investigations.

Effect of rod–rod interaction on self-assembly behavior of ABC π-conjugated rod–coil–coil triblock copolymers

A new class of ABC π-conjugated rod–coil–coil triblock copolymers of poly(diethylhexyloxy-p-phenylene vinylene)-b-poly (2-vinyl pyridine)-b-polystyrene (PPV-PVP-PS) was synthesized and its self-assembly behavior was explored. Three different triblock copolymers of PPV-PVP-PS1, PPV-PVP-PS2, and PPV-PVP-PS3, each with PPV, PS, and PVP, respectively, as the major species in the copolymers, were used to study the effects of copolymer composition and rod–rod interaction between PPV blocks on their morphology. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and simultaneously measured small-angle (SAXS) and wide-angle (WAXS) X-ray scattering experiments as a function of different annealing conditions revealed the details of the copolymer morphology, molecular packing, and their phase transitions. Despite their large differences in the rod volume fraction, fPPV, from 0.43 to 0.18, all three triblock copolymers adopted a self-assembled lamellar structure, in sharp constrast with the observation of many non-lamellar structures typically exhibited by ABC coil–coil–coil triblock copolymers with similar segregation strength. For PPV-PVP-PS1 with its major species PPV rod coupled with a single-phase symmetric PVP-PS diblock precursor, PPV-PVP-PS1 self-organized to form a triple-lamellar phase with each domain corresponding to the three respective blocks. Investigation of the molecular packing of PPV rods within their domain through the analysis of the 1D electron density profile suggests the PPV rods adopted a smectic C monolayer organization below its order–disorder transition temperature (TODT). For PPV-PVP-PS2 with its PS-rich asymmetric PVP-PS diblock precursor that displayed a disordered micelle structure, PPV-PVP-PS2 with fPPV of only 0.19 still exhibited a triple-lamellar phase with PPV forming a broken lamellar layer, thus preventing the excessive chain stretching of the coil blocks on the otherwise long-range ordered PPV lamellar phase. A similar broken triple-lamellar phase can also be observed for the PVP-rich PPV-PVP-PS3 with a low fPPV of only 0.18. Simultaneous SAXS and WAXS measurements show that all three triblock copolymers undergo the ordered lamella-to-disorder transition and the smectic/isotropic transition at the same temperature, indicating that the rod–rod interaction between PPV rods plays a critical role in forming and stabilizing these lamellar structures. The observation of the phase transformations is in good agreement with a recent mean-field prediction of a rod–coil–coil triblock copolymer system.

Gearing of Molecular Swirls: Columnar Packing of Nematogenic Hexakis(4‐alkoxyphenylethynyl)benzene Derivatives

Through molecular design and straightforward synthesis, incorporating an additional alkoxy chain onto various numbers of peripheral phenyls in nematogenic hexakis(4-alkoxyphenylethynyl)benzene was achieved to generate columnar phases with significantly expanded temperature ranges. For the compound with two decyloxy chains on every peripheral phenyl, scanning tunnelling microscopic studies indicate the molecule adopts a preferred molecular-swirl geometry by restricting the conformational arrangement of the alkoxy side chains. Cooperative packing of the molecular swirls by a lock-in mechanism among columns results in a stable helical column packing evidenced by powder X-ray diffraction.

Single-component room-temperature discotic nematic liquid crystals formed by introducing an attraction-enhancing in-plane protrusion onto the hexa(phenylethynyl)benzene core

Single-component room-temperature discotic nematics have been achieved within large temperature ranges by introducing an attraction-enhancing protrusion onto hexa(phenylethynyl)benzenes. X-ray diffraction investigations revealed the nematic phases of these new discotic nematic materials to be cybotactic.

A Small Change in Central Linker Has a Profound Effect in Inducing Columnar Phases of Triazine-Based Unconventional Dendrimers

Four unconventional triazine-based dendrimers have been prepared and characterized by (1) H and (13) C NMR spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Based on DSC studies, polarizing microscopy, and powder XRD, two of these dendrimers, containing linkers with an odd number of carbon atoms, were observed to display columnar liquid-crystalline phases during thermal treatment. However, the other two dendritic analogues, containing linkers with an even number of carbon atoms, were not observed to behave correspondingly. Based on computer simulation, we reasonably assume that the dendrimers with an odd number of carbon atoms in their linkers distort their molecular shape and adopt two isomeric structures due to asymmetrical congestion. This reduces the molecular π-π face-to-face interaction, which in turn causes the dendrimers to form columnar LC phases during thermal treatment. However, the dendrimers with an even number of carbon atoms in their linkers have more symmetrical skeletons and do not display any liquid-crystalline phase upon thermal treatment. This new strategy should be applicable for eliciting the columnar liquid-crystalline properties of other types of unconventional dendrimers with rigid frameworks.

Induction of the Columnar Phase of Unconventional Dendrimers by Breaking the C2 Symmetry of Molecules

Two triazine-based unconventional dendrimers were prepared and characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing microscopy, and powder XRD studies showed that these dendrimers display columnar liquid-crystalline phases during thermal treatment. This is ascribable to breaking of their C(2) symmetry. The molecular conformations of prepared dendrimers were obtained by computer simulation with the MM3 model of the CaChe program in the gas phase. The simulation showed that the conformations of the prepared dendrimers are rather flat and disfavor formation of the LC phase. However, due to C(2)-symmetry breaking, the prepared dendrimers have structural isomers in the solid state and thus show the desired columnar phases. This new strategy should be applicable to other types of unconventional dendrimers with rigid frameworks.