Dynamic
covalent bonds bear great potential for the development
of adaptive and self-healing materials. Herein, we introduce a versatile
concept not only for the design of low-molecular-weight liquid crystals
but also for their in situ postsynthetic modification
by using the dynamic covalent nature of imine bonds. The methodology
allows systematic investigations of structure–property relationships
as well as the manipulation of the materials’ behavior (liquid
crystallinity) and the introduction of additional properties (here,
fluorescence) by a solvent-free method. For the first time, the transamination
reaction is followed by variable-temperature 19F solid-state
NMR in the mesophase, providing insights into the reaction dynamics
in a liquid crystalline material. Finally, the application potential
for the design of liquid crystalline materials with adaptive properties
is demonstrated by a sequential combination of these reactions.
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