Room-temperature stabilization of bicontinuous cubic liquid crystals

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K05619
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 35020:Polymer materials-related
• Research Institution: Gifu University
• Principal Investigator: Kutsumizu Shoichi 岐阜大学, 工学部, 教授 (80214964)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 三輪 洋平 岐阜大学, 工学部, 教授 (10635692)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 液晶 / 超分子化学 / 自己組織化 / ナノ材料 / 複合材料・物性 / 双連続キュービック構造 / 分子デザイン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the thermotropic bicontinuous cubic (Cub_bi) phase formed by rodlike molecules, anti-spindle-like molecular shape is a requisite for the formation. In this view, introduction of oligodimethyl siloxanyl segments at the termini of the alkyl tails would be an effective methodology to obtain the stabilization of the phase at lower temperatures. The main issue of this research is to obtain further strategies for stabilizing Cub_bi phases at lower/room temperature. The insights obtained are: (1) Use of nonsymmetric molecular core in addition to siloxanyl tails at the termini of the alkyl tails effectively lowering the Cub_bi phase temperature range; (2) 1:1 Binary mixture of molecules with different lengths of siloxanyl tails giving a room-temperature Cub_bi phase; (3) Revealing of the aggregation structure of the “Im3m”-type chiral cubic phase by X-ray diffraction utilizing a new algorithm; (4) Stabilization of a Cub_bi phase in a mixture of low-mass and polymeric siloxanyl compounds.

Free Research Field

ソフトマター化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

Cub_bi液晶では、その動的な凝集構造ゆえに生命体のような外部刺激（電気、光、力学的変形）対する応答性と、内部の三次元的に複雑に拡がった、らせん状ネットワーク構造の自律的な安定性とが巧みに両立している。現状では、液晶材料として工業的に直ちに利用できる段階にはないが、本研究成果はCub_bi液晶の近未来における有用材料開発へつながる基盤を提供する。