Columnar mesophases from half-discoid platinum cyclometalated metallomesogens

Article abstract of DOI:10.1039/b714291a

A series of liquid crystals have been synthesized and studied based upon mononuclear ortho-platinated rod-like heteroaromatic and 1,3-diketonate ligands. The liquid crystalline properties of these molecules were investigated using polarized light optical

Full text of DOI:10.1039/b714291a

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PAPER
www.rsc.org/materials | Journal of Materials Chemistry
Columnar mesophases from half-discoid platinum cyclometalated
metallomesogens{{
Koushik Venkatesan, Paul H. J. Kouwer, Shigeyuki Yagi, Peter Mu¨ller and Timothy M. Swager*
Received 17th September 2007, Accepted 6th November 2007
First published as an Advance Article on the web 26th November 2007
DOI: 10.1039/b714291a
A series of liquid crystals have been synthesized and studied based upon mononuclear ortho-
platinated rod-like heteroaromatic and 1,3-diketonate ligands. The liquid crystalline properties of
these molecules were investigated using polarized light optical microscopy, differential scanning
calorimetry, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and powder X-ray diffraction. Increasing the number of
alkyl chains attached to the 1,3-diketonate units resulted in a transition from lamellar (SmA) to
hexagonal columnar phases (Colh). The 2-thienylpyridine units were previously unexplored in
metallomesogenic complexes and these studies extend the utility of ortho-platinated
2-phenylpyridines and 2-thienylpyridines to produce columnar liquid crystalline phases. The
platinum complexes all display photoluminescence and are of interest for electrooptical applications.
need not be in a single molecular subunit and complementary
Introduction
shapes, such as a half disc, can display liquid crystal phases
The design of molecule-based materials requires the controlled
with correlated dynamic organizations of nearest neighbors. In
assembly of specific superstructures that transform discrete
smectic A phases these are referred to as antiphases as a result
of the antiparallel correlations of mesogens.7b The classic
molecular properties into collective material properties. Liquid
crystalline (mesomorphic) materials are excellent examples
examples are cyanobiphenyl mesogens wherein strong dipolar
of designed supermolecular materials, and the cooperative
interactions cause a time-averaged antiparallel organization of
nearest neighbors.8 Similarly in columnar liquid crystals half-
physical properties of these materials have led to numerous
technological applications.1 The continued extension of liquid
disc structures can have anticorrelated structures, and given
crystal science to additional technologies requires new types of
the larger positional registration between molecules, this type
mesomorphic materials that integrate novel structural elements
of phase provides opportunities to control the nature and
degree of the intermolecular interactions.9 An attractive
and physical properties. To this end, mesogenic transition
metal complexes2 (metallomesogens) combine attractive opti-
feature of columnar phases built up from smaller molecular
cal and electronic properties with the fluidity, self-assembly,
components is that the mesophase may have a reduced
and self-healing properties of liquid crystals. The diversity of
viscosity relative to standard columnar phases based upon
promesogenic organic structures that can be combined with
discotic mesogens. This latter feature can be advantageous for
the different geometries provided by the metals, allows access
the assembly of defect free organizations over large distances.
to a virtually unlimited number of unconventional functional
The compounds investigated in this study have weaker dipoles
mesomorphic materials. We report herein the development of
organometallic-based discotic liquid crystals. The electronic
and luminescent properties of these systems were chosen with
an interest in expanding the range of technological applica-
tions of liquid crystals in optoelectronic devices, such as light
emitting devices,3 field effect transistors,4 highly emissive gels,5
solar cells,6 and sensors.7a
than the cyanobiphenyls, but have a strong shape preference
for an antiparallel organization. It is important to note that
these structures are highly dynamic, and as a result of the
liquid nature of the mesophase these correlations extend only
for short distances. We anticipate that antiparallel packing in
which the bulky flexible chains are, on average, not interacting
sterically with those of the nearest neighbors will allow a closer
packing of the rigid cores and greater interactions between
the metal centers. The resulting molecular alignment could
enhance dz2-orbital overlap in square planar metallomesogens
and produce molecular wires that display quasi-one-dimen-
sional conduction.1
The tendency for a given molecule to display a particular
liquid crystal phase is related to its shape, aspect ratio, dipolar
properties, conformational dynamics, and specific intermole-
cular associations. Rod-shaped molecules generally assemble
into nematic or smectic phases whereas disc-shaped molecules
most often display columnar phases. The projection of a shape
Organometallic compounds of palladium and platinum
based on ortho-palladated and ortho-platinated nitrogen-
substituted aromatic compounds represent an important class
of metallomesogens.10 Most compounds of this type are
dinuclear halogen- or carboxylate-bridged metallomesogens
combining two rod-like segments. If only one aliphatic chain is
attached to the ends of the rod-like segments, the metallo-
mesogens show smectic or nematic phases and larger numbers
Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA.
E-mail: tswager@mit.edu; Fax: +1-617-253-7929; Tel: +1-617-253-4423
{ CCDC reference numbers 661116 and 661117. For crystallographic
data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/b714291a
{ Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Further
experimental and crystallographic data. See DOI: 10.1039/b714291a
400 | J. Mater. Chem., 2008, 18, 400–407
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Scheme 1 (i) ICl, CH2Cl2, 80%; (ii) BBr3, CH2Cl2, 87%; (iii) C12H25Br, K2CO3, KI, DMF, 90 uC, 24 h, 61%; (iv) tBuLi, B(OMe)3, 63%; (v) 2-iodo-
5-bromopyridine, Pd(PPh3)4, 2 M Na2CO3(aq), DME, 86%; (vi) 1-dodecyne, PdCl2(PPh3)2, CuI, Et3N, 57%; (vii) Pd/C, EtOAc, H2 (45 psi), 52%.
of flexible alkyl chains produce nematic columnar (NCol) and
columnar mesophases.11
The present study focuses on a series of mononuclear ortho-
platinated metallomesogens containing a rod-like hetero-
aromatic and a half-disc shaped 1,3-diketonate. Previous
attempts by other groups to observe mesogenic behavior in
related ortho-platinated 2-phenylpyridine derivatives have met
with limited success.10 We demonstrate that the number of
alkyl or alkoxy chain substitutions on the 2-phenylpyridine
and 2-thienylpyridine ligands has a significant effect on the
stability of the Colh phase.
Scheme 2
Synthesis
Scheme
1 is representative of the synthetic routes to
The dinuclear chloro-bridged complexes were obtained in
moderate yields by simply stirring di-m-chlorobis(g3-2-methal-
lyl)diplatinum with the corresponding organic ligands
(Scheme 3) for 4 days at room temperature in a 1 : 1 mixture
of CH2Cl2–MeOH.10 The thienylpyridine derivatives yielded
a bis-cyclometalated complex12 as a side product whose
properties are being currently investigated. Reaction with the
1,3-diketonate ligands in THF at 60 uC in the presence of
Ag2O for 24 h afforded the mononuclear ortho-metalated
complexes. The yield of the final ligand exchange step
varied depending upon the cyclometalating ligand. Structures
of the complexes synthesized and investigated are shown
in Chart 1.
Tschierske and co-workers previously reported10 that
similar ortho-platinated compounds were unstable in organic
solvents or at elevated temperature. In contrast, we found that
all of the compounds reported herein are indefinitely stable
in organic solvents and are even stable at high temperatures
(200 uC). This revised view of these compounds is important
because high stability is a critical issue for any potential
applications.
phenyl pyridine ligands bearing alkoxy groups. Reaction of
3-trimethylsilylveratrol 8a with ICl in CH2Cl2 yields 3-iodo-
veratrol 8b in 80% yield. Deprotection of 8b with BBr3 yielded
3-iodocatechol 8c in 87% yield. Heating 8c in DMF at 90 uC
for 24 h with bromododecane in the presence of K2CO3 and
KI yielded the bisalkylated product 8c in 61% yield. The
corresponding boronic acid was obtained in 63% yield from 8e
by lithium–halogen exchange with tBuLi, followed by addition
of trimethyl borate and hydrolysis. A Suzuki coupling of 8d in
refluxing DME with 2-iodo-5-bromopyridine in the presence
of Pd(PPh3)4 and 2 M Na2CO3 afforded 8f in 86% yield.
Treatment of 8f with 1-dodecyne in the presence of refluxing
Et3N and PdCl2(PPh3)2/CuI gave 8g in 57% yield and sub-
sequent reduction of 8g on Pd/C under an atmosphere of H2
yielded the target ligand 8h in 52% yield. Other phenylpyridine
ligands (Scheme 2) were prepared analogously. The thienyl-
pyridine derivative was synthesized starting from the reaction
of 2-thienylmagnesiumbromide with 2,5-dibromopyridine in
the presence of Pd(dppb)Cl2 to afford 2-thienyl-5-bromopyr-
idine in 84% yield. Treatment with Br2 in CH2Cl2 yielded
5-bromo-2-thienyl-5-bromopyridine in 64%. Sonogashira
coupling of the dibromo derivative with 1-dodecyne in
refluxing Et3N with PdCl2(PPh3)2/CuI and subsequent
reduction with Pd/C under an atmosphere of H2 yielded the
target ligand in 95% yield. All synthetic procedures are detailed
in the ESI.{
Spectroscopic properties
Highly phosphorescent cyclometalated late-transition metal
complexes and materials have been receiving increasing
attention for applications in organic-light emitting diodes,6
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Scheme 3
Chart 1
Table 1 Optical properties of Pt(II) complexesa
where increased efficiency is achieved by capturing the large
percentage of triplet excitons created upon electron–hole
recombination. The cyclometalated complexes of iridium(III)
and platinum(II) are particularly attractive due to their
modular synthesis and high luminescence efficiencies.13
Emission lmax/nm
Absorbance
lmax/nm (RT)
Complex
RT
77 K
Wp
tp/ms
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
353
360
359
359
363
385
385
494
533
533
545
520
575
576
495
533
522
551
526
570
576
0.34
0.30
0.29
0.34
0.32
0.49
0.62
0.5
1.5
1.6
1.5
1.5
11.1
11.3
Absorption and emission spectra (RT and 77 K) were
recorded for all of the complexes and a summary of the data is
in Table 1. The energies and the extinction coefficients are
similar to those of other cyclometalated Pt complexes reported
in the literature.13c The solvatochromic transitions in the
range of 350–450 nm with extinction coefficients between 2000
and 6000 M21 cm21 are assigned as metal-to-ligand charge
Room temperature data in toluene. 77 K data in 2-methyl-THF
glass
402 | J. Mater. Chem., 2008, 18, 400–407
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transfer (MLCT) transitions. The higher energy, more intense
absorption bands are assigned to p–p* ligand-centered
transitions, which are perturbed relative to the free ligand
and are not strongly solvatochromic. Metal centered, d–d
transitions are not observed for these complexes. It is believed
that the strong ligand field of the cyclometalating ligands shifts
the d–d transitions to high energy, putting them under the
more intense ligand-centered and MLCT transitions.
Table 2 Phase transition temperatures and corresponding enthalpy
values
Compound T/uC (DH/kJ mol21
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
Cr 146 (21.5) SmA
Cr 80 (47.1) Colh
Cr [61 (104.3) Colh
156 (5.1) Iso
124 (2.4) Iso
73 (11.9)]a 82 (114.8) Iso
165 (7.9) Iso
159 (6.9) Iso
b
Cr 28 (46.4)
Cr 71 (38.2)
Colr/Colh
Colh
Cr 110 (39.6) SmA
Cr 73 (28.4) Colh
Monotropic phase transition.
123 (4.9) Iso
117 (2.4) Iso
All of the complexes are intensely emissive in low-
temperature glasses (77 K), and most are luminescent in fluid
solution (298 K) as well. Most of the complexes also show a
small rigidochromic blue shift of 5–10 nm on cooling the
sample solution to 77 K. The highly structured emission
spectra display vibronic progressions of ca. 1400 cm21, which
are typical for breathing modes in aromatic rings. The
structured luminescence and microsecond radiative lifetimes
at 77 K are consistent with emission originating from a
b
Temperature dependent X-ray
diffraction measurements (cooling run) showed a change in the
lattice from a Colh to the Colr phase between 80 uC and 90 uC,
however, the exact transition temperature could not be retrieved by
DSC or optical microscopy.
Liquid crystalline properties
3
mixed ligand-centered-MLCT excited state. Longer lifetimes
The mesomorphic properties of the obtained compounds were
investigated using polarized optical microscopy (POM),
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray
diffraction (XRD). The transition temperatures, correspond-
ing enthalpy values, and mesophase types observed for the
series of platinum complexes are summarized in Table 2.
would be indicative of greater ligand-centered character in
the triplet excited state. There is a stark contrast between
the emissive quantum yields and lifetimes of the previously
reported dipivaloylmethane as compared to the phenyl-
substituted b-diketonate ligands in this investigation.
Complexes with phenyl-substituted b-diketonate ligands dis-
play lower emission efficiencies and excited state lifetimes as
low as 35 ns in THF. However, the lifetimes determined at
77 K are about 6–7 ms and similar in magnitude to the
dipivaloylmethane-substituted analogues. A reasonable expla-
nation for these observations is the presence of a very weakly
or non-emissive diketonate centered excited state that is in
thermal equilibrium with the phenylpyridine-centered triplet at
room temperature in THF. Indeed, the substitution of
aromatic rings on the diketonate ligand extends conjugation
and lowers both the oxidation potential and the excited state
energy of the ligand. This explanation is also consistent with
previously reported fluorine-substituted Pt(II) phenylpyridine
complexes having high-energy ligand centered triplet states.13c
These complexes also display very short lifetimes and low
emission quantum yields and equilibration with a non-emissive
charge transfer state involving the b-diketonate ligand was also
proposed.14 We also note that phenyl-substituted b-diketonate
ligands dramatically reduce the phosphorescence efficiency of
cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes in 2-methyl-THF.13b We have
probed the nature of the very weakly emissive state with a
solvent-dependence study. The excited state lifetime changes
from approximately 35 ns (THF) to over 2 ms (cyclohexane).
In addition, the quantum yield of emission is raised from less
than one percent to approximately 25–30%. Therefore, the
emission from the lowest energy 3MLCT state remains
undisturbed in cyclohexane because the polar CT states are
destabilized by the non-polar nature of cyclohexane relative to
the more polar THF.14
Polarized light optical microscopy
The compounds with four alkyl chains, 1 and 6, exhibit an
enantiotropic smectic A phase (Fig. 1), displaying a charac-
teristic fan-shaped optical defect texture in combination with
black homeotropic areas. The corresponding compounds
with 6 aliphatic tails (using the 3,39,4,49-tetradodecylphenyl-
diketonate, which is not shown here) did not display
mesomorphic behavior. A further increase in the number of
tails to eight (compounds 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7) results in the
formation of columnar mesophases, which were characterized
by typical spherulitic textures accompanied by dark home-
otropically ordered regions.
Compounds 2 and 3 differ only by a single oxygen atom
connecting the flexible tails. The melting temperatures of the
two compounds are very similar, however, the columnar phase
of 2 is strongly stabilized compared to 3, which displays only a
monotropic mesophase. The lower clearing temperature of 3
contrasts with the usual observation that alkoxy chains
generally lead to higher clearing temperatures than the alkyl
counterparts. To further examine structure–property correla-
tions we investigated metallomesogens containing phenyl-
pyridine ligands with dodecyloxy tails, varying in number
and position (3–5). Compounds 4 and 5 bear the same number
of alkoxy chains on the phenylpyridine. The observed clearing
temperatures are of the same order, but they display a
significant difference in the melting temperatures. A possible
explanation for this is that 4, due to steric interactions, is
non-planar in the liquid (crystalline) phase. This induces the
formation of a racemic mixture of stereoisomers that is harder
to pack sterically and thus exhibits a lower crystallization
temperature. As a result, compound 4 exhibits a wide liquid
crystalline phase possessing a mesophase near room tempera-
ture. Compounds 2 and 7 have the same melting and clearing
temperatures in spite of a significant difference in the
The nature of the cyclometalating ring influences the color
of the emission. Complexes with sulfur atoms, which are
polarizable and more easily oxidized, have significantly lower
transitional energies. Therefore, complexes 6 and 7 display
orange-red emissions with a lmax up to 580 nm. Many of these
complexes are highly emissive in degassed solutions at RT with
lifetimes in the microsecond regime (Table 1).
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hexadecyltriethoxysilane (hydrophobic) or 3-aminopropyl-
triethoxysilane (hydrophilic). Our samples were placed
between the functionalized slides, heated into the isotropic
phase and then cooled to 5 uC below the phase transition
temperature. For hydrophobic substrates the domains did not
merge after prolonged annealing. In contrast, hydrophilic
substrates showed near perfect homeotropic alignment after
annealing overnight (Fig. 1d). We speculate that the favorable
interaction of the amino group with the platinum core plays a
key role in the alignment process.15 Shearing of the latter
samples at elevated temperatures gave a well-oriented homo-
geneous columnar phase (Fig. 1e,f), which remained stable
after continued annealing.
Powder X-ray diffraction
Selected mesogens were subjected to temperature dependent
powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The results
are summarized in Table 3.
The X-ray diffraction pattern in the Colh phases shows a
strong fundamental reflection at spacing d100, followed by a
series of small, but sharp small angle reflections at spacings
d/!3, d/!4, d/!7 (Fig. 2a), characteristic of a hexagonal packing.
Mesogens 2 and 4 show lattice constants a (and columnar
Table 3 Powder X-ray diffraction data
Phase and Miller
Compound T/uC symmetry indices
dhkl,exp/ dhkl,calc/ Lattice
A
constantsa
˚
˚
A
˚
a = 30.2 A
c = 60u
2
3
90
70
Colh
p6mm
100
110
200
26.1
15.2
13.1
26.2
15.1
13.1
SXRD
=
0.79 nm2
alkyl
(diffuse)
001
100
110
200
4.4
—
b
3.7
—
˚
a = 35.8 A
c = 60u
Colh
p6mm
30.9
17.9
15.6
31.0
17.9
15.5
SXRD
=
1.11 nm2
210
alkyl
11.8
4.4
11.7
—
(diffuse)
b
001
100
110
200
3.7
—
˚
a = 29.4 A
c = 60u
4
120 Colh
p6mm
25.4
14.7
12.7
25.4
14.7
12.7
SXRD
=
Fig. 1 Optical polarizing microscopy pictures of: (a) 6 at 118 uC
(SmA phase); (b) 4 at 120 uC (Colh phase). Both samples sandwiched
between unfunctionalized glass slides. Aligned samples of 4 at 85 uC
(Colh phase) between glass slides functionalized with 3-aminopropyl-
triethoxysilane: (c) upon cooling from the isotropic phase (no
annealing); (d) after annealing overnight at 160 uC (homeotropic
alignment); (e,f) after shearing the homeotropic sample: rotation of the
stage gives minima and maxima in the birefringence (shearing direction
indicated). All pictures taken between a crossed polarizer and analyzer;
the scale bar indicates the magnification.
0.75 nm2
alkyl
(diffuse)
4.3
—
001
110
200
020
310
—
—
˚
50
Colr
c2mm
25.9
24.5
15.2
14.4
25.8
24.4
15.3
14.5
a = 48.9 A
c
˚
b = 30.5 A
c = 90u
SXRD
=
0.75 nm2
220
400
alkyl
(diffuse)
001
12.9
12.2
4.4
13.0
12.4
—
cyclometalating ligand, with the former bearing a phenyl-
pyridine ligand and the latter a thienylpyridine ligand.
3.67
—
a
The p6mm Colh lattice parameter a = 2,d100./!3, with ,d100. =
Macroscopic alignment of liquid crystal systems is crucial
for applications, but is usually hard to realize with viscous
metallomesogenic columnar phases. We tested two surface
treatments to yield macroscopically aligned structures. Glass
slides and ITO covered glass slides were treated with
[d100 + (!3)d110 + (!4)d200]/3. The columnar surface area in the Colh
phase: SXRD = (!3)a2/2; in the Colr phase: SXRD = ab/2, considering
that in this phase two molecules form a unit cell. Weak reflection.
b
c
Lattice parameters a and b were determined by fitting the
experimental reflections to a c2mm lattice.
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diketonate ligand and lacking a second organic ligand,9a
suggesting the formation of a locally antiparallel structure for
2 and 4. The lattice constant of 3 is substantially larger,
indicating a different packing of the mesogens inside the
columnar structure. Our XRD results, however, are not
conclusive on this point, due the intra-columnar disorder
manifested by the weak or absent (001) reflections, and more
experimental effort is needed for an exact determination of the
molecular packing inside the columns.
Mesogen 4 shows a rectangular columnar phase at lower
temperatures, indicated by a doubling of the number of reflec-
tions at small angles (Fig. 2b). The experimental small angle
X-ray data could be fit satisfactorily to a rectangular c2mm
lattice,16 which is a columnar phase with all of the discotic
mesogens aligned (or tilted) in the same direction. The
Colh–Colr phase transition could not be observed in POM or
DSC experiments, which may not come as a surprise con-
sidering the small changes in the 2D columnar lattice. The
X-ray crystal structure of 4 shows a close antiparallel stacking
and hence the transition to Colr may reflect a higher anti-
parallel correlation and hence a tendency to lower symmetry.
Although the crystal structure shows a fairly flat structure in
the solid state, calculations by Tschierske and co-workers10c
show that the non-planar phenylpyridine rings could arise from
the C–H interaction between the adjacent rings. The phenyl-
pyridine is twisted in the liquid (crystalline) phase, but not in the
crystal phase, likely causing disorder in the columnar direction,
causing the weak (001) reflections, and hence we do not observe
˚
a broad reflection at about 7 A which has previously been
assigned to a doubling of the periodic structure along the
column in systems with strong antiparallel correlations.9
Single crystal X-ray diffraction
Fig. 2 Powder X-ray diffractograms of 4 at (a) 120 uC (Colh phase)
and (b) 50 uC (Colr phase).
To gain insight into the organizational preferences of the
mesogenic core, model compounds 4a and 7a were synthesized
and their solid-state structure was established by a single
crystal X-ray diffraction study (Fig. 3). In 4a, the molecules
˚
surface areas S) that are nearly identical (y30 A). This value
is slightly larger than values observed earlier for antiparallel-
organised columnar phases of mesogens of the same
Fig. 3 Thermal ellipsoid plots of 4a (left) and 7a (right) at 50% probability. Hydrogen atoms, disordered atoms and solvent molecules are omitted
for clarity.
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Fig. 4 Crystal packing of compounds 4a (left) and 7a (right) showing antiparallel and parallel stacking of two molecules respectively.
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exhibit a packing arrangement in the expected antiparallel
˚
fashion with a Pt–Pt distance of 4.6878(10) A (Fig. 4). In
contrast, 7a shows a parallel arrangement and a long Pt–Pt
˚
distance of 8.422(7) A. This shows the ability of ligand
substitution to influence packing arrangement and Pt–Pt
distances.
Conclusion
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New mononuclear ortho-platinated metallomesogens have
been synthesized. By increasing the number of alkyl chains
attached to the cyclometalating ligand and the 1,3-diketonate
units, a transition from lamellar to columnar organization
was observed. We find that the distribution of the flexible
sidechains around the cyclometalating ligand has a dramatic
effect on the mesophase stabilization. Solid state structures
determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies show a
significant difference in the arrangement of the molecules
between the phenylpyridine and thienylpyridine derivatives.
The excited state properties of these molecules are altered
depending on the cyclometalating ligand in these molecules.
Acknowledgements
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K. V. would like to thank the Swiss National Science
Foundation for a fellowship and P. H. J. K. the European
Union for a Marie Curie fellowship. This research was
supported by the National Science Foundation.
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