Chromonic Ionic Liquid Crystals Forming Nematic and Hexagonal Columnar Phases

We designed an ionic salt by combining a pi-conjugated anion and a cholinium cation. It formed homogeneous mixtures with water in various weight ratios. The obtained mixtures showed chromonic liquid-crystalline behavior in a wider concentration range as compared to analogous compounds with inorganic cations. Although only an exhibition of nematic phases was previously reported by Kasianova et al. for analogous compounds with an inorganic cation in 2010, the ionic salt with a cholinium cation showed not only nematic phases but also hexagonal columnar phases. The formation of hexagonal columnar phases is attributed to its ability to form mesophases even in a high concentration range, which enables the cylindrical aggregates of the pi-conjugated anions to form dense packing. By examining the states of the water molecules, we revealed that the ability of the cholinium cation to form a hydrated ionic liquid state strongly contributes to the widening of the concentration range forming chromonic liquid-crystalline behavior.

Automated summary

We designed an ionic salt by combining a pi-conjugated anion and a cholinium cation. It formed homogeneous mixtures with water in various weight ratios and exhibited chromonic liquid-crystalline behavior in a wider concentration range than similar compounds with inorganic cations. The cholinium cation not only showed nematic phases, but also hexagonal columnar phases, due to its ability to form mesophases even at high concentrations.