Supermolecules Containing a Tetrahedral Core: A New Class of Liquid‐Crystalline Siloxanes

Abstract

It is shown that supermolecules with a tetrahedral symmetry and appropriate side‐chains exhibit liquid‐crystalline phase behaviour. The use of an optimised hydrosylation reaction allows for the synthesis of materials that have four mesogenic groups attached to a siloxane core, where the conformation and the configuration are unambiguous. The materials show low glass transition temperatures and, depending on the spacer length, complex liquid‐crystalline morphologies.