Luminescent liquid crystals: from supramolecular plant dyes to emissive flavylium salts

ABSTRACT

Inspired by the supramolecular architecture of cornflower blue we developed luminescent flavylium salts with lipophilic alkoxy or thioether side chains which self-assemble into liquid crystalline phases. The current account highlights some fundamental aspects of our biological ‘role model’ anthocyanine, the origin of the natural pigment cornflower blue, and our recent developments on novel liquid crystalline emissive dyes. Starting with the general synthesis of flavylium salts, other topics address variations of flavylium ILCs, including specific tuning of their mesomorphic and photophysical behaviour.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Flavylium salts
• ionic liquid crystals
• liquid crystals
• Xray

Acknowledgments

Generous financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grants # La 907/17-2, La 907/20-1 SNAPSTER), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD PHC Procope, WELCHYNA) Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst des Landes Baden-Württemberg, the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (shared instrumentation grant # 01 RI 05177), the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (PhD fellowship for J.A. Knöller) and the Carl-Schneider-Stiftung Aalen (shared instrumentation grant) is gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [shared instrumentation grant # 01 R1 05177]; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [La 907/17-2, La 907/20-1]; German Academic Exchange Service [PHC Procope]; Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg; Carl-Schneider-Stiftung [shared instrumentation grant]; Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes [PhD Fellowship]