Design and synthesis of novel ionic liquid/liquid crystals (IL2Cs) with axial chirality

As the first examples of axially chiral ionic liquids, new pyridinium salts having a 1,3-dioxan ring in their central core were synthesized. Enantioselective dehydrohalogenation using chiral alkoxides provided a simple and practical approach for their synthesis. Some structures exhibit both low melting point and liquid crystalline behaviour.