Abstract
We report the synthesis of a mesogen that contains two nitrile groups (4-pentyl-3′,4′-dicyanobiphenyl, DCB), and the use of the mesogen in an investigation of the effects of multivalent ligand interactions on the ordering of liquid-crystalline phases at surfaces decorated with copper (Cu2+) ions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed that DCB was miscible with nematic phases of 4-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB). Quantitative measurement of the optical retardance of mixtures of DCB and 5CB in contact with surfaces decorated with Cu2+ (characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS) revealed a continuous ordering transition in the nematic LC as a function of increasing concentration of DCB (0.9−2 wt %). In contrast, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of 5 mM Cu2+ dissolved in bulk benzonitrile revealed no evidence of a change in nitrile coordination around the Cu2+ upon addition of 5CB or DCB, thus leading to the proposition that the effect of DCB on the ordering of the LC phas...
Published Version
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