Metallomesogens with extended bent tridentate receptors: columnar and cubic mesomorphism tuned by the size of the lanthanide metal ions

The increase of the curvature of the interface between the rigid mesogenic core and the aliphatic chains in the hexacatenar tridentate ligand L3 overcomes the considerable expansion brought by the complexation of bulky metallic cores, thus leading to organized cubic mesophases for monometallic zincII and lanthanideIII complexes.