Charge Transfer Complexes of Discotic Liquid Crystals:  A Flexible Route to a Wide Variety of Mesophases

We have prepared a new discotic nematogen, bearing one functional tail and five methoxy substituents. The corresponding side chain polymers, prepared via a polymer analogous esterification reaction, exhibited N D phases from 50 °C until degradation above 200 °C. Addition of equimolar amounts of various trinitrofluorenone-based acceptors to the mesogen resulted in the formation of charge transfer complexes with a variety in liquid crystalline properties. Depending on the acceptor, different columnar and nematic phases are induced, including the recently discovered nematic lateral phase. The liquid crystalline properties were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry, optical polarizing microscopy, and extensive X-ray diffraction (XRD).