Effect of the structure of gelators on electro-optical properties of liquid crystal physical gels

Low molecular mass organic gelator (LMOG) as an important component of liquid crystal physical gel has a great influence on the electro-optical properties. In this paper, three analogues of amide gelator were synthesized and employed as LMOGs in nematic liquid crystal 5CB. Both hydrogen-bonding and π–ππ–π-stacking interactions in the gel phase were found to stabilize the self-assembled structure. It was observed that the morphology was highly dependent on the crystallinity of gelators, which was affected by the intensity of hydrogen bonding. The thicker fibril was obtained with higher crystallinity of LMOG, while the thinner fibril was obtained with lower crystallinity. Moreover, the electro-optical properties of liquid crystal physical gels were proposed to be related to the interaction between the fibrils and the liquid crystal molecules.

The influence of chemical structure of low molecular mass organic gelator (LMOG) on the electro-optical performance of liquid crystal physical gel was investigated. It is found that the morphology and electro-optical properties of liquid crystal physical gel were related to the crystallinity of LMOGs.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide