Electric Field-Assisted Alignment of Self-Assembled Fibers Composed of Hydrogen-Bonded Molecules Having Laterally Fluorinated Mesogens

Aligned fibrous aggregates of amide compounds having laterally fluorinated aromatic mesogens have been successfully obtained by the application of the alternating current electric field (1.0 V/mu m, 1 kHz) in dodecylbenzene. In contrast, randomly entangled fibers are formed in the solvent without electric fields. For the analogous compounds without fluorine substituent, no aligned fibrous aggregates have been obtained under the electric fields. The electric field alignment of the fibers should be assisted by the fluorinated rod-shaped mesogens that exhibit negative dielectric anisotropy.