Scalable Synthesis of Cholesteric Glassy Liquid Crystals

Journal Article · 15 March 2018 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.8b00667 · OSTI ID:1437580

Wallace, Jason U. ^[1]; Shestopalov, Alexander  ^[2]; Kosc, Tanya ^[3]; Chen, Shaw H.  ^[4]

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1. D’Youville College, Buffalo, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
2. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
3. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics; Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
4. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics

Capable of non-absorbing circular polarization of unpolarized incident light, cholesteric glassy liquid crystals consisting of hybrid chiral-nematic pendants to volume-excluding cores are potentially useful for the fabrication of various robust optical devices. As illustrated in this study, the well-oriented glassy film of enantiomeric Bz3ChN, with a glass transition at 73 °C and a cholesteric-to-isotropic transition at 295 °C, exhibits a selective reflection band centered at approximately 410 nm, an exceptional set of properties well suited for optical device exploration. To enable sustainable, large-scale synthesis of this material class for widespread applications, a productive strategy has been established, requiring a mere three-step scheme with an overall yield, atom economy, and reaction mass efficiency at 34%, 33% and 12%, respectively. Lastly, while amenable to improvements, the resultant green chemistry metrics are encouraging as the first attempt.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0001944
• OSTI ID: 1437580
• Report Number(s): 2018-14; 14-04; 2018-14, 1404, 2360
• Journal Information: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 57, Issue 12; ISSN 0888-5885
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE