Chiral segregation of enantiomers or chiral conformers of achiral molecules during self‐assembly in well‐ordered crystalline superstructures has fascinated chemists since Pasteur. Here we report spontaneous mirror‐symmetry breaking in cubic phases formed by achiral multichain‐terminated diphenyl‐2,2′‐bithiophenes. It was found that stochastic symmetry breaking is a general phenomenon observed in bicontinuous cubic liquid crystal phases of achiral rod‐like compounds. In all compounds studied the Im 3m cubic phase is always chiral, while the Ia 3d phase is achiral. These intriguing observations are explained by propagation of homochiral helical twist across the entire networks through helix matching at network junctions. In the Ia 3d phase the opposing chiralities of the two networks cancel, but not so in the three‐networks Im 3m phase. The high twist in the Im 3m phase explains its previously unrecognized chirality, as well as the origin of this complex structure and the transitions between the different cubic phases.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Dressel et al. (2014) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 4 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: