Design of Viologen-Based Liquid Crystals Exhibiting Bicontinuous Cubic Phases and Their Redox-Active Behavior

We have succeeded in developing viologen-based liquid-crystalline materials forming bicontinuous cubic phases. They are composed of amphiphilic zwitterions with a viologen ionic-head-group and sulfonyl-imide-type acids. In the bicontinuous cubic liquid-crystalline assemblies, the ionic-head groups of the amphiphiles align along a gyroid minimal surface, forming a 3D continuous viologen layer. The ionic state of the viologen-moieties can be tuned from a dication state (V2+) to a radical mono cation state (V1+•) by UV irradiation and/or electric field. This redox reaction proceeds in bulk, accompanying the change of their color from colorless to purple. Interestingly, they preserve the 3D molecular assembled structures beyond the redox reaction, which has been confirmed by polarizing optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements.