Ionic discotic liquid crystals: synthesis and characterization of pyridinium bromides containing a triphenylene core

Five novel pyridinium salts tethered with hexaalkoxytriphenylene molecules were synthesized by the quaternization of pyridine with ω-bromo-substituted triphenylene derivatives. Their chemical structures were determined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR, UV spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The thermotropic liquid crystalline properties of these salts were investigated by polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. These triphenylene-based pyridinium salts with bromide as counterion were found to be mesomorphic over a wide temperature range.