Methods and blends for controlling rheology and transition temperature of liquid crystals

A method for producing a blend comprising:

• providing a first phenylene ring consisting essentially of a first functional group at a para-position to a first halogenated carboxylic group;
• providing a second phenylene ring consisting essentially of a second functional group at a para-position to a second halogenated carboxylic group;
• providing a third phenylene ring comprising R2 and comprising a first functionality at a para-position to a second functionality;
• and
• forming a mixture comprising said first phenylene rings, said second phenylene rings, and said third phenylene rings;
• exposing said mixture to first conditions effective to react said first halogenated carboxylic group with said first functionality to produce a first ester bond, said first conditions being effective to react said second halogenated carboxylic group with said second functionality to produce a second ester bond, producing a reaction product comprising said first functional group at position para- to said first ester bond and said second functional group at a position para- to said second ester bond, one or more of said first functional group and said second functional group being selected from the group consisting of H—(CH2)n—O— groups, Cl(CH2)n—O— groups, Br(CH2)n—O— groups, derivatives thereof, wherein n is from about 2 to about 12 and CH2 independently is selected from the group consisting of CH2 which is unsubstituted and CH2 which is substantially by an element selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur, and an ester group;
• provided that at least 2 carbon atoms separates said oxygen or said ester group;
• and
• treating said reaction product under second conditions effective to hydrolyze said first functional group and said second functional group, producing platform molecules having the following general structure:
• wherein X and Y comprise hydroxyl groups;
• R2 is a bulky organic group whereby, when both X and Y are reacted with polymerizable groups to produce polymerizable mesogens, R2 provides sufficient steric hindrance to achieve a nematic state at room temperature while suppressing crystallinity of said polymerizable mesogens at room temperature;
• and,
• R1 and R3 are selected from groups less bulky than R2;
• and
• reacting one or more member selected from the group consisting of X and Y with a moiety comprising a polymerizable under third conditions effective to produce said blend, wherein one member selected from the group consisting of X and Y comprises a polymerizable group in about 50 wt % or more of said blend, said blend having a Tc of from about 20° C. to about 37° C. and a ΔT of about 10° C. or more.

A method of producing a blend comprising:

• providing 4 alkoxy benzoyl chloride molecules comprising benzyl chloride groups at a position para- to alkyl ether groups;
• providing R2-hydroquinone molecules comprising first hydroxyl groups and second hydroxyl groups at para-positions;
• forming a mixture comprising said 4-alkoxy benzoyl chloride molecule and said R2 hydroquinone molecules;
• and,
• exposing said mixture to first conditions effective to react a first benzoyl chloride group on a first 4-alkoxy benzoyl chloride molecule with said first hydroxyl group to produce a first ester bond, said first conditions being effective to react a second benzoyl chloride group on a second 4-alkoxy-benzoyl chloride molecule with said second hydroxyl group to produce a second ester bond, producing a reaction product comprising said first alkyl ether group at a position para- to said first ester bond and said second alkyl ether group at a position para- to said second ester bond;
• treating said bis terminal alkoxy groups under second conditions effective to cleave at least one of said first alkyl ether group and said second alkyl ether group to produce a reaction product comprising one or more platform molecules have the following general structure:
• wherein one or more of X and Y comprises hydroxyl groups;
• R2 is a bulky organic group whereby, when both X and Y are reacted with polymerizable groups to produce polymerizable mesogens, R2 provides sufficient steric hindrance to achieve a nematic state at room temperature while suppressing crystallinity of said polymerizable mesogens at room temperature;
• and,
• R1 and R3 are selected from groups less bulky than R2;
• and
• reacting one or more member selected from the group consisting of X and Y with a moiety comprising a polymerizable group under third conditions effective to produce said blend.