Impact of Endcap Molecules on Temperature-Responsive Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Oligomers in Structural Color Stability and Hypsochromic Shift

Cholesteric liquid crystal oligomers are an interesting class of temperature responsive structurally colored materials. However, the role of endcap molecules in these oligomers is rather unexplored. In this work, we demonstrate the role of endcap molecules on structural color stability and hypsochromic shift in temperature-responsive cholesteric liquid crystal oligomers. First, new liquid crystal monoacrylate endcap molecules are synthesized, which are then used to synthesize various cholesteric liquid crystal oligomers. In addition, cholesteric oligomers using commercial monoacrylate endcap molecules are also prepared. It is found that the molecular weight and the polydispersity of the oligomers can be tuned by the endcapping molecules. The oligomers are used to produce reflective, structurally colored coatings. It was found that the coatings using the commercial monoacrylate lose their color and crystallize over time, most likely due to the presence of crystalline dimers. The coatings containing the newly synthesized monoacrylate endcap molecules did not exhibit this crystallization, resulting in structurally colored coatings that remained stable over time. These latter coatings possessed temperature responsive hypochromic behavior, which makes them interesting for advanced optical applications.