This paper reports the synthesis, liquid crystal behavior, and chargetransport properties in the mesophase of isocyano-triphenylene gold, copper, palladium, and platinum complexes [MX(CNR)] (CNR = 2-(6-(4isocyanophenoxy)hexyloxy)-3,6,7,10,11-pentakisdodecyloxytriphenylene; M = Au, X = Cl, C 6 F 5 , C 6 F 4 OC 10 H 21 , CN;, and [MX 2 (CNR) 2 ] (M = Pd, Pt; X = Cl, Br, I, and M = Pt, X = CN). The thermal and electronic properties of these materials are modulated by the metal fragment. The complexes that display columnar mesomorphism are those that support more than one triphenylene per molecule or those that produce a similar effect by dipole−dipole interactions between the metal groups. These circumstances improve the balance of favorable enthalpic interactions versus unfavorable entropic contributions into a columnar stacking. Hybrid inorganic/organic dual columnar mesophases with high SCLC hole mobility along the columnar stacking, above 1 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , have been found. It is worth noting that the dicyanoplatinum complex displays mesophase phosphorescence based on Pt•••Pt interactions.

This manuscript reports the synthesis and liquid crystal behavior of isocyanoazulene gold(I) complexes [AuX(CN-Az)] (Az = azulene; X = halide, perhalophenyl or alkynyl) and [µ-4,4'-C6F4C6F4{Au(CN-Az)}2]. The comparison of the X-ray structures of homologous compounds, reveals that the introduction of a long substituent in the system produces a loss of molecular planarity that induces a decrease in the melting temperatures. The free 2isocyanoazulene is not a liquid crystal itself, but its gold complexes bearing a C10 hydrocarbon chain display a SmA mesophase, whose formation is driven by nanosegregation between molten chains and aromatic parts. The free isocyanide is strongly colored and displays fluorescence in solution associated with the azulene fragment, which is largely diminished upon coordination to the gold fragment.

This paper reports the synthesis, liquid crystal behavior, and charge-transport properties in the mesophase of triphenylene Schiff-bases and their copper(II), nickel(II) and oxovanadium(IV) complexes. The thermal and electronic properties of the Schiff-bases are modulated by coordination to the corresponding metal moieties, which have the ability to self-assemble into linear structures and help the alignment of the triphenylene columns. This produces two kinds of electronically non-connected columnar regions, one purely organic and one more inorganic. The most remarkable effect is a striking charge mobility enhancement in the metal containing mesophases, due to the contribution of the more inorganic columns: compared to values of hole mobility along the columnar stacking for the purely organic columnar mesophases, in the order of 10 -7 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , these values jump to 1-10 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in these hybrid inorganic/organic columnar materials.