Abstract
Four dichiral liquid crystals with one perfluoroalkyl chain and two lactate groups were synthesized. They all exhibit an enantiotropic SmA phase. An enantiotropic SmCd* phase was identified in a pair of enantiomers. Their optical activity was mainly controlled by the chirality of the lactate residue near mesogenic core. These liquid crystals could self-assemble into twisted nanoribbons or helical nanofibers. The stacking handedness of mesogenic cores and the handedness of nanoribbons/nanofibers were also dominated by the chirality of lactate group near mesogenic core. This “core determination” phenomenon was proposed to originate from the π–π stacking among mesogenic cores.
Disclosure statement
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Note: Cr: crystal; SmCd*: bilayer chiral smectic C; SmA: bilayer smectic A; I: isotropic liquid; Recr: recrystal and the corresponding enthalpies, ΔH in kJ mol−1 detected on the second temperature run at a rate of 10 °C min−1.