Nanocontrolled Bending of Discotic Columns by Spiral Networks

The anisotropic interfacial tension of discotic phthalocyanines is used to produce intentionally curved columns. When phthalocyanines are confined in a mesoscopic spiral network of nanogrooves (see figure), the alignment of the discotic columns follows the tangential direction down to the micrometer scale. Energetic aspects of the alignment process are discussed and the bending modulus of the columns is determined.