Syntheses and mesomorphic properties of star-like liquid crystals based on 2,4,6-triphenylpyridine

Anew kind of star-like liquid crystals was synthesized by taking triphenylpyridine as central core connected with three peripheral 4-alkoxylbenzoyloxy groups via ester bond.The mesophase behavior of these compounds was investigated with polarizing optical microscopy (POM).Nematic and columnar mesophases can be found in these compounds,with the elongation of the terminal alkoxyl chains.The microsegregation of the molecular incompatible parts and intermolecular π-π interaction are considered to be the main driving forces for the molecular selforganization to induce liquid crystalline properties.