The first hexagonal columnar discotic liquid crystalline carbazole derivative

The synthesis of two carbazole derivatives is described by a method in which one and three carbazole moieties are covalently attached to a hexa-alkoxytriphenylene core, respectively. The first of these materials displays hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline behaviour when doped with trinitrofluorenone, at room temperature, as confirmed by the mesophase textures viewed by optical polarizing microscopy and the results from differential scanning calorimetry. These materials may have potential applications in the area of photorefractive materials.