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Mesomorphic properties and structures of two mix-substituted lipophilic phthalocyanine derivatives of the A3B type, with a different ratio of electron-donating (hexadecyloxy-) and electron-withdrawing (Cl-) substituents on the isoindol fragments ‘A’ and ‘B’, correspondingly, were studied by polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering. Both compounds display columnar mesophases, and the type of organisation of the columns in the mesomorphic state was found to strongly depend on the number of peripheral chlorine substituents in the molecule. The di-chloro-substituted phthalocyanine forms a solid pasty lamellar phase at room temperature, which on heating undergoes successive transitions to two large-lattice columnar mesophases (2D-Colh and 3D-MCol) arising from the aggregation of several phthalocyanine-containing piles. On the contrary, aggregation of columns does not occur for the tetra-chloro-substituted phthalocyanine, which forms a nematic columnar mesophase of single phthalocyanine piles (1D-NCol). While the di-chloro-compound partly crystallises on cooling, the nematic phase of the tetra-chloro-compound freezes at room temperature. The reasons for this different self-organisation behaviour are not yet fully understood, but some hints may be deduced from the proposed supramolecular models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new metallomesogen, the dihydroxo[5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4- n -dodecylphenyl)porphinato]silicon(IV) complex, C 12 TPPSi(OH) 2 , was synthesized and its mesomorphism was investigated in terms of the axial hydrogen bond interaction in the stacked columnar structure. It was found that this compound exhibits a 3D plastic lamellar mesophase with a columnar structure, and the axial hydroxyl groups are connected by a very weak hydrogen bond interaction in the column. This causes a dramatic increase of the clearing point for the mesophase, even though the stacking periodicity is far larger ( c . 9 Å) than that typically found for a columnar meosphase ( c . 3.5 Å). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]