English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

π-Conjugated liquid crystals have great potential as organic semiconductors owing to their smooth thin-film forming and flexible properties, as well as charge carrier transport ability. In the present study, we have designed and synthesised X-shaped columnar liquid crystals with pyrene as the central core, which are fourfold conjugated with bithiophene moieties, and tethered with eight or twelve alkoxy chains at their extremities. These X-shaped molecules show hexagonal, tetragonal, and rectangular columnar liquid-crystalline (LC) phases over a wide range of temperature. The extended π-conjugation has led to the realisation of a moderately low bandgap. The hole mobilities of both molecules in their various LC states are revealed to be in the order of 10−4 to 10−5 cm2 V−1 s−1 using the time-of-flight (TOF) photoconductivity measurements. In addition, the mechano-responsive photoluminescent change has been observed for the columnar phase of the X-shaped molecule with eight alkoxy chains. The possible π-stacking configurations are discussed. The introduction of a gelator, N,N′-bis(lauroyl)hydrazine, into the X-shaped molecules leads to the formation of a LC gel that produces a change in the measured hole mobility. The presented strategy could lead to the design of new solution-processable, low bandgap semiconducting materials for optoelectronic devices.

Columnar liquid-crystalline assemblies of X-shaped pyrene–oligothiophene conjugates: photoconductivities and mechanochromic functions