Discotic liquid crystal (LC) molecules have a structure that is comprised of a rigid aromatic core with side-chain molecules. Intermolecular £k-£k interactions force the tube to orient and form one-dimensional columnar structures which can act as molecular wires. In recent years, discotic LC molecules have been deposited on surfaces from solution to create the solid-state electronic elements used widely in solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), organic photovoltaic, field-effect transistors (FET), and molecular wires. Different stacking morphologies can change the behavior of the material and thus will have potential for different applications. Hence, effective control over the stacking of the LC molecules on surfaces is important for optimizing the performance and effectiveness of LC-based electronic components and devices.
This study has focused on LC molecules with acid and ester containing functional groups, and how these groups influence the stacking behavior on surfaces. Here, the self-aggregation behavior of the discotic LC ester in solution was investigated quantitatively by determining the concentration dependence of the 1H NMR chemical shifts. Our results showed that discotic LC ester has different self-aggregation behavior in CH2Cl2, THF and Benzene organic solvents. THF solvent showed the highest degree of aggregation, followed by CH2Cl2, and then benzene.
We also studied the effects of (i) different solvents (THF, CH2Cl2, and Benzene), (ii) different surface functional groups (OH, CH3, NH2, SH, and diphenyl), and (iii) temperature, on the stacking phenomenon of discotic LCs on silicon surfaces. In part (i) our results showed that discotic LC ester had different morphologies on silicon surfaces due to differences in solvent polarity and evaporation rate. In part (ii), we observed that different surface functional groups did not affect the intermolecular interaction between either the ester- or acid-type LC molecules. For the acid-type LC, strong hydrogen bonding interactions with the surface caused the crystals to form rod-like fiber structures. However, the ester-type LC molecules formed ribbon-like stacks on the surfaces. For functional groups containing CH3 (more hydrophobic surfaces), we observed no LC molecules on the surface, which was likely due to the poor wettability of the solvents on OTS. In part (iii), we observed that both acid and ester discotic LCs formed large aggregates on the surfaces due to a ¡§ripening effect¡¨. With increased temperature, the molecules were able to overcome the wetting interaction with the surface and self-aggregate into three-dimensional clusters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0727109-194543 |
| Date | 27 July 2009 |
| Creators | Liu, Yun-chun |
| Contributors | Shang-wu Ding, Shu-chen Hsieh, Mei-ying Chang |
| Publisher | NSYSU |
| Source Sets | NSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | Cholon |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0727109-194543 |
| Rights | not_available, Copyright information available at source archive |
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