Stereochemistry-dependent thermotropic liquid crystalline phases of monosaccharide-based amphiphiles

Conformational rigidity controls the bulk self-assembly and liquid crystallinity from amphiphilic block molecules to copolymers. The effects of block stereochemistry on the self-assembly have, however, been less explored. Here, we have investigated amphiphilic block molecules involving eight open-chain monosaccharide-based polyol units possessing different stereochemistries, derived from d-glucose, d-galactose, l-arabinose, d-mannose and l-rhamnose (allylated monosaccharides t-Glc*, e-Glc*, t-Gal*, e-Gal*, t-Ara*, e-Ara*, t-Man*, and t-Rha*), end-functionalized with repulsive tetradecyl alkyl chain blocks to form well-defined amphiphiles with block molecule structures. All compounds studied showed low temperature crystalline phases due to polyol crystallization, and smectic (lamellar) and isotropic phases upon heating in bulk. Hexagonal cylindrical phase was additionally observed for the composition involving t-Man*. Cubic phases were observed for e-Glc*, e-Gal*, e-Ara*, and t-Rha* derived compounds. Therein, the rich array of WAXS-reflections suggested that the crystalline polyol domains are not ultra-confined in spheres as in classic cubic phases but instead show network-like phase continuity, which is rare in bulk liquid crystals. Importantly, the transition temperatures of the self-assemblies were observed to depend strongly on the polyol stereochemistry. The findings underpin that the stereochemistry in carbohydrate-based assemblies involves complexity, which is an important parameter to be considered in material design when developing self-assemblies for different functions. Stereochemistry of glyco-based high-chi block molecules should not be neglected in their assemblies in materials design, especially at the interfaces between the nanophase segregated domains, to master the structural complexity.