engleski

Aryl-3-hydroxy propionic acid – A versatile chiral building block for liquid crystals

In liquid crystalline systems, molecular chirality is often achieved by introducing either cholesterol mesogenic unit or a methyl branch group utilising commercial enantiopure starting material. Such chiral structures limit the structural variations of the material and restrict detailed investigation of structure-property relations. Furthermore, incorporation of the methyl group causes steric repulsion and destabilizes liquid-crystalline properties. We focus our research on the development of a novel chiral aril-3-hydroxy propanoate building block capable of upgrading into various chiral molecules. This structural element is less spacious than the methyl group allowing for better interaction between mesogenic units and its conformational freedom is reduced due to hydrogen bonding. Proper functionalization may lead to the material of various topology and thus various types of chiral self-assembly. Here we describe the synthetic pathway to novel chiral aril-3- hydroxy propanoate building block. Novel materials could be obtained in racemic and in chiral forms as exemplified by bent-shaped cyanobiphenyl-based dimers. The difference in mesomorphic properties and perspective of this type of material will be discussed.

liquid crystals ; molecular chirality

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