Piperidinium, piperazinium and morpholinium ionic liquid crystals.

Piperidinium, piperazinium and morpholinium cations have been used for the design of ionic liquid crystals. These cations were combined with several types of anions, namely bromide, tetrafluoroborate, hexafluorophosphate, dodecylsulfate, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, dioctylsulfosuccinate, dicyclohexylsulfosuccinate, and dihexylsulfosuccinate. For the bromide salts of piperidinium containing one alkyl chain, the chain length was varied, ranging from 8 to 18 carbon atoms (n = 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18). The compounds show a rich mesomorphic behavior. High-ordered smectic phases (crystal smectic E and T phases), smectic A phases, and hexagonal columnar phases were observed, depending on the type of cation and anion. The morpholinium compounds with sulfosuccinate anions showed hexagonal columnar phases at room temperature and a structural model for the self-assembly of these morpholinium compounds into hexagonal columnar phases is proposed.