Special Issue "Ionic Liquid Crystals"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Sabine Laschat
Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
E-Mail:
Interests: liquid crystals; ionic liquids; total synthesis and biological activity of natural products; asymmetric synthesis; oxidation catalysis; enzymes in organic synthesis

Summary:

Ionic liquids, i.e. molten salts with a melting point at or below room temperature have received increasing interest during the last decade as novel designer solvents and materials.[1] Due to their low volatility and adjustable physical properties such as polarity, miscibility and conductivity, which can be controlled by proper choice of anion and cation respectively, they are particularly attractive for both laboratory as well as industrial applications. Knight and Shaw discovered in 1938 the first ionic liquids with thermotropic mesophases.[2] Later Seddon and Bruce investigated the liquid crystalline phases of these amphiphilic N-alkyl-pyridinium salts in more detail.[3] The results have stimulated research endeavours into ionic liquid crystals by many groups, because the presence of charged species in a liquid crystalline phase gives access to unprecedented properties such as ionic conductivity. Ionic liquid crystals are useful electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells and anisotropic media for electrochemistry, being solvent, electrolyte and template at the same time.[4] Furthermore, the anionic and cationic moieties provide additional design parameters beyond mesogenic core structure and side chain. This special issue of Materials is devoted to recent research progress in the field of ionic liquid crystals.

References:

[1] Reviews on ionic liquids: a) Ranke, J.; Stolte, S.; Stoermann, R.; Arning, J. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 2183-2206. b) Van Rautwijk, F.; Sheldon, R. A. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 2757-2785. c) Binnemans, K. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 2592-2614. d) Parvulescu, K. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 2615-2665. e) Imperato, G.; Koenig, B.; Chiappe, C. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2007, 1049-1058. f) Riisager, A.; Fehrmann, R.; Haumann, M.; Wasserscheid, P. Top. Catal. 2006, 40, 91-102. g) Abbott, A. P.; McKenzie, K. J. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2006, 8, 4265-4279. h) Li, S.-G. Chem. Commun. 2006, 1049-1063. i) Baudequin, C.; Bregeon, D.; Levillain, J.; Guillen, F.; Plaquevent, J.-C.; Gaumont, A.-C. Tetrahedron Asym. 2005, 16, 3921-3945. j) Binnemans, K. Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 4148-4204. k) Jain, N.; Kumar, A.; Chauhan, S.; Chauhan, S. M. S. Tetrahedron 2005, 61, 1015-1060. l) Welton, T. Coord. Chem. Rev. 2004, 248, 2459-2477. m) Wasserscheid, P.; Welton, T. (eds.); Ionic Liquids in Synthesis, Wiley-VCH, Berlin 2003.
[2] Knight, G. A.; Shaw, B. D. J. Chem. Soc. 1938, 682-683.
[3] a) Holbrey, J. D.; Seddon, K. R. J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. 1999, 2133-2140. b) Gordon, C. M.; Holbrey, J. D.; Kennedy, A. R.; Seddon, K. R. J. Mater. Chem. 1998, 8, 2627-2636. c) Bowlas, C. J.; Bruce, D. W.; Seddon, K. R. Chem. Commun. 1996, 1625-1626.
[4] Yamanaka, N.; Kawano, R.; Kubo, W.; Kitamura, T.; Wada, T.; Watanabe, M.; Yanagida, S. Chem. Commun. 2005, 740-742.

Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted to materials@mdpi.org with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this Open Access journal is 800 CHF per accepted paper.

• task-specific ionic liquids
• hybrid materials
• supramolecular aggregates
• metallomesogens
• hydrogen-bonded liquid crystals
• unconventional mesogens
• molecular magnets
• luminescent liquid crystals
• ion transport materials
• ionic self-assembly

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Liquid Crystals Based on Ammonium Carboxylates as Chiral Zeolite Analogues: Recognition and Transformation of Organic Molecules Within Constrained Environments
Author: Yasuhiro Ishida ^1,2,3
Affiliations: ¹ Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo; E-Mail: y-ishida@riken.jp
² RIKEN, Advanced Science Institute
³ PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Abstract: In liquid crystals, molecules are expected to be confined in peculiar environments, where ordered alignment and certain mobility are realized at the same time. Taking account of these characteristics, the idea of "controlling molecular events within liquid crystalline media" seems reasonable. As a suitable system for this challenge, we have recently developed a new class of ionic liquid crystals; the salts of amphiphilic carboxylic acids with 2-amino alcohols, or those of carboxylic acids with amphiphilic 2-amino alcohols, have a strong tendency to exhibit thermotropic liquid crystalline phases. Because of the noncovalent nature of the interaction between molecules, one of the two components can be easily exchanged with, or transformed into another molecule, without disturbing the original liquid crystalline architectures. In addition, both of the components, carboxylic acids and 2-amino alcohols, are very common organic molecules, and a variety of compounds, including enantiopure ones, are easily available. Taking advantages of these natures, we applied the two-component liquid crystals as chiral media for molecular recognitions and reactions.