Discotic liquid crystalline crosslinkers and anisotropic networks

Discotic hexa-acrylates based on the triphenylene hexabenzoate group and a triacrylate based on the phenyl benzenetricarboxylate group were synthesized. The first class of compounds is suitable to form anisotropic networks by photopolymerization in the nematic discotic phase. The latter compound shows only a monotropic liquid crystalline phase at low temperatures and is therefore not suitable for formation of these anisotropic networks. Phase separation was observed upon photopolymerization of homogeneous mixtures of one of these reactive compounds and non-reactive discotic compounds.