A series of supermolecular liquid crystals has been synthesized by combining phosphorus dendrimers of the zero, first, and fourth generations with sulfonamide derivatives, thus generating dendromesogens bearing 6, 12, and 96 mesogenic units on their surfaces. The relevant reactions could be monitored by (1) H, (19) F, and (31) P{(1) H} NMR spectroscopies. The thermal and mesomorphic properties of the products have been studied by optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. All of the new macromolecules prepared in this work have been found to show mesomorphic properties over a wide temperature range; moreover, for all of the compounds, the columnar mesophases observed were maintained or vitrified at room temperature. On increasing the generation of these dendromesogens, mesophases appear at lower temperatures and remain stable over a wider temperature interval. In all cases, on the basis of X-ray analysis, a cylindrical symmetry of the molecules can be proposed to promote the supramolecular columnar arrangement observed in the mesophases. In this type of model, the height of the dendrimer clearly increases with increasing dendrimer generation, whereas its cross- sectional area increases only slightly, probably due to compression of the highly hyperbranched structures as a consequence of their progressive steric constraints. The mesomorphic arrangement is governed by the peripheral sulfonamide units.

Mesomorphic arylsulfonamide derivatives containing four long alkyl chains and polar groups (fluoro, cyano or amino) have been synthesized and characterized by polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray diffraction on the mesophase. Studies of the supramolecular organization of these molecules have allowed a better understanding of the noncovalent driving forces (dipole···dipole and hydrogen‐bonding interactions) responsible for the self‐assembly, which is mainly due to the presence of the polar groups.