Engineering magic number Au and Au cage structures using electron withdrawing atoms.

Gold cages are a subset of gold nanoparticles and these structures are of major interest due to their favourable physiochemical properties. In order for these structures to be useful in applications, they must be chemically stable. The objective of this research is to transform non-magic number cage structures into magic number cage structures by the addition of electron-withdrawing groups on the cages.

Stabilization of Columnar Liquid Crystal Phases via Arene-Perfluoroarene Interactions.

We report the synthesis of novel polycatenar dibenzopentacenequinones and that are designed to form columnar liquid crystalline phases. The mesomorphic properties of these compounds were investigated by polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and powder X-ray diffraction. While compound exhibits two distinct columnar mesophases between 148 and 177 °C, fluorinated exhibits a columnar mesophase from 121 to 336 °C.