Synthesis and studies of some cholest-5-en-3-ol-(3β)[4-phenylpyridylazo]carbonate-containing supramolecular hydrogen-bonded mesogens

Abstract

Mesogenic materials containing cholest-5-en-3-ol-(3β)[4-phenylpyridylazo]carbonate (CPPC) and 4-n-alkyloxybenzoic acids have been synthesized using hydrogen bonding as a mechanism for self-assembly. Phase diagrams of the binary mixtures of the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor were established using polarizing optical microscopy. The maximum isotropization point was observed for the 50 mol % composition confirming the formation of stable 1 : 1 complexes due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding. All the supramolecular assemblies built from 1 : 1 molar ratios of the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor moieties exhibit well defined smectic A (SmA) liquid crystal phases on heating and cooling cycles. The SmA phases exhibited by the complexes are not observed for the individual components. The azobenzene moiety of CPPC undergoes trans-cis-photoisomerization with a quantum yield of 0.1 and the activation energy for the thermal cis-trans-isomerization was estimated as 92 kJ mol-¹.