Mesogenic copper(II) complexes with [1,2,3]-triazole-based bidentate Schiff bases

The first mesogenic Cu(II) complex with [1,2,3]-triazole-based bidentate Schiff bases with flexible terminal alkyl chain, CnH2n+1 (even parity of n = 10-18) has been successfully synthesized. The heterocyclic triazole core was introduced into the target compound through the click reaction between azidoalkane and propargyl aldehyde. All the uncoordinated ligands and target complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, H-1-NMR and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. The observation under the polarized light and differential scanning calometry (DSC) shows that the triazole-based ligands exhibit unstable SmA phase which are not reproducible upon subsequent heating and cooling. Interestingly, the whole homologues of Cu(II) complexes show exclusively stable focal conic fan-shaped texture characteristic of SmA phase. This can be ascribed to the presence of Cu-N and Cu-O coordination modes which enhance the collinearity and molecular anisotropy. On the other hand, the Cu(II) complexes are thermally more stable as compared to their corresponding ligands.