1 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123 (P.R. China)
2 College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 (USA)
3 Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (P.R. China)
Fullerene-based liquid crystalline materials have both the excellent optical and electrical properties of fullerene and the self-organization and external-field-responsive properties of liquid crystals (LCs). Herein, we demonstrate a new family of thermotropic [60]fullerene supramolecular LCs with hierarchical structures. The [60]fullerene dyads undergo self-organization driven by π–π interactions to form triple-layer two-dimensional (2D) fullerene crystals sandwiched between layers of alkyl chains. The lamellar packing of 2D crystals gives rise to the formation of supramolecular LCs. This design strategy should be applicable to other molecules and lead to an enlarged family of 2D crystals and supramolecular liquid crystals.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201408438