Molecular aggregation and chromonic liquid crystals

Abstract

Almost 30 years ago, when the study of chromonic liquid crystals was in its infancy, Alfred Saupe and L.J. Yu investigated disodium cromoglycate using deuteron magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Among their findings were that the quadrupolar splitting of the D₂O spectrum increased with decreasing temperature and that the addition of salt to the solution increased the temperature stability of the nematic phase. A good deal of research on chromonic liquid crystals has been reported since that time, and therefore a lot more is known. However, it is also interesting that some of the questions from that time remain unanswered.

Keywords:

• chromonic
• lyotropic
• liquid crystal
• aggregation

Acknowledgements

The partial support of this work by the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society is acknowledged, as is additional support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program at the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter at the University of Pennsylvania. The valuable contributions of Viva Horowitz, Michelle Tomasik, Christopher McKitterick, and Nicholas LaRacuente are also gratefully acknowledged.