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Arrays of giant octagonal and square cylinders by liquid crystalline self-assembly of X-shaped polyphilic molecules

Author

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  • Feng Liu

    (University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.
    Present address: State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.)

  • Robert Kieffer

    (Institute of Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg)

  • Xiangbing Zeng

    (University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.)

  • Karsten Pelz

    (Institute of Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg)

  • Marko Prehm

    (Institute of Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg)

  • Goran Ungar

    (University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.
    WCU program Chemical Convergence for Energy and Environment, School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University)

  • Carsten Tschierske

    (Institute of Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg)

Abstract

Nanopatterning by molecular self-assembly has been a topic of intense research in pursuit of 'bottom-up' methods of generating structures for use in nanotechnology. The systems most widely studied have been two- and three-dimensional morphologies of block copolymers. However, T- and X-shaped polyphilic liquid crystals have recently been shown to have great potential for generating soft honeycomb-like structures, surpassing those of polymers in both complexity and degree of order. The cell cross-section of the liquid crystals honeycombs has so far been limited by small molecular size. Here we overcome this limitation by exploiting the inability of the polyphiles to simultaneously achieve optimal packing and complete nanophase separation. This frustration results in a two-dimensional periodic honeycomb consisting of giant octagonal and square cylinders with circumferences of 12 and 8 molecules, respectively. In addition to forming large cells, the two-molecule-long bendy walls give this structure extra versatility and stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng Liu & Robert Kieffer & Xiangbing Zeng & Karsten Pelz & Marko Prehm & Goran Ungar & Carsten Tschierske, 2012. "Arrays of giant octagonal and square cylinders by liquid crystalline self-assembly of X-shaped polyphilic molecules," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-7, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2096
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2096
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