Swallow-tailed alkyl and linear alkoxy-substituted dibenzocoronene tetracarboxdiimide derivatives: synthesis, photophysical properties, and thermotropic behaviors.

A series of dibenzocoronene tetracarboxdiimide derivatives decorated with alkyl swallow-tail and alkoxy moieties were synthesized, and their structures were characterized. 2,3-Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) as an effective oxidant was first used in the benzannulation of perylene diimides with the almost quantitative yield. The thermotropic behavior was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarization optical microscopy (POM). The introduction of alkyl swallow-tail and alkoxy substituents facilitates thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior. The branching site of alkyl swallow-tail units at the α position and the longer alkoxy chains played a similar role in lowering the mesophase transition as well as isotropization transition temperatures. The UV-vis absorption spectra of all compounds appeared as absorption in 425-600 nm region, and POM images of certain compounds exhibited characteristic columnar hexagonal (Col(h)) packing and readily self-assembled into a homeotropic alignment toward the substrate.