Enhanced hole-transporting behavior of discotic liquid-crystalline physical gels

Discotic liquid-crystalline (LC) physical gels have been prepared by combining the self-assembled fibers of a low-molecular-weight gelator and semiconducting LC triphenylene derivatives. The hole mobilities of the discotic LC physical gels measured by a time-of-flight method become higher than those of LC triphenylenes alone. The introduction of the finely dispersed networks of the gelator in the hexagonal columnar phases may affect the molecular dynamics of the liquid crystals, resulting in the enhancement of hole transporting behavior in the LC gel state.