Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid
Ethyl cellulose (EC) and its derivatives are known to exhibit the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) phase with visible light reflection in a lyotropic manner after adding appropriate solvents. Generally, the reflection peak of conventional CLCs is easily wavelength shifted by temperature. However, ou...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2839 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849428814800617472 |
|---|---|
| author | Wakako Kishi Naoto Iwata Seiichi Furumi |
| author_facet | Wakako Kishi Naoto Iwata Seiichi Furumi |
| author_sort | Wakako Kishi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ethyl cellulose (EC) and its derivatives are known to exhibit the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) phase with visible light reflection in a lyotropic manner after adding appropriate solvents. Generally, the reflection peak of conventional CLCs is easily wavelength shifted by temperature. However, our previous study showed that the reflection wavelength can be maintained even after heating for the lyotropic CLCs of completely pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with methacrylic acid (MAA). However, the emergence of thermally stable reflection colors still remains obscure in the mechanism at the mesoscopic scale. In this study, we evaluated the temperature dependence of the reflection wavelength for the lyotropic CLCs of a series of completely etherified EC derivatives possessing different alkoxy chains by addition of MAA. It was found that butyl- or pentyl-etherified EC derivatives are suitable for preparation of the lyotropic CLCs with visible Bragg reflection, whereas visible light reflection cannot be observed for the other mixtures of propyl- and hexyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA. Furthermore, it turned out that lyotropic CLCs of pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA show the smallest temperature dependence of their reflection wavelength. Based on the results of ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of CLC films, we presumed that the emergence of thermally stable reflection colors from the lyotropic CLCs of pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA arises from their phase separation at the mesoscopic scale by changing the temperature. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e9f24fa8880f4e53bc51b74a1120309f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-e9f24fa8880f4e53bc51b74a1120309f2025-08-20T03:28:33ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-07-013013283910.3390/molecules30132839Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic AcidWakako Kishi0Naoto Iwata1Seiichi Furumi2Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, JapanDepartment of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, JapanDepartment of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, JapanEthyl cellulose (EC) and its derivatives are known to exhibit the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) phase with visible light reflection in a lyotropic manner after adding appropriate solvents. Generally, the reflection peak of conventional CLCs is easily wavelength shifted by temperature. However, our previous study showed that the reflection wavelength can be maintained even after heating for the lyotropic CLCs of completely pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with methacrylic acid (MAA). However, the emergence of thermally stable reflection colors still remains obscure in the mechanism at the mesoscopic scale. In this study, we evaluated the temperature dependence of the reflection wavelength for the lyotropic CLCs of a series of completely etherified EC derivatives possessing different alkoxy chains by addition of MAA. It was found that butyl- or pentyl-etherified EC derivatives are suitable for preparation of the lyotropic CLCs with visible Bragg reflection, whereas visible light reflection cannot be observed for the other mixtures of propyl- and hexyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA. Furthermore, it turned out that lyotropic CLCs of pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA show the smallest temperature dependence of their reflection wavelength. Based on the results of ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of CLC films, we presumed that the emergence of thermally stable reflection colors from the lyotropic CLCs of pentyl-etherified EC derivatives with MAA arises from their phase separation at the mesoscopic scale by changing the temperature.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2839ethyl cellulosecholesteric liquid crystalBragg reflectionsmall-angle X-ray scatteringphase separation |
| spellingShingle | Wakako Kishi Naoto Iwata Seiichi Furumi Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid Molecules ethyl cellulose cholesteric liquid crystal Bragg reflection small-angle X-ray scattering phase separation |
| title | Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid |
| title_full | Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid |
| title_fullStr | Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid |
| title_short | Insight into the Mechanism for the Emergence of Thermally Stable Reflection Colors from Cholesteric Liquid Crystals of Etherified Ethyl Cellulose Derivatives and Methacrylic Acid |
| title_sort | insight into the mechanism for the emergence of thermally stable reflection colors from cholesteric liquid crystals of etherified ethyl cellulose derivatives and methacrylic acid |
| topic | ethyl cellulose cholesteric liquid crystal Bragg reflection small-angle X-ray scattering phase separation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2839 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wakakokishi insightintothemechanismfortheemergenceofthermallystablereflectioncolorsfromcholestericliquidcrystalsofetherifiedethylcellulosederivativesandmethacrylicacid AT naotoiwata insightintothemechanismfortheemergenceofthermallystablereflectioncolorsfromcholestericliquidcrystalsofetherifiedethylcellulosederivativesandmethacrylicacid AT seiichifurumi insightintothemechanismfortheemergenceofthermallystablereflectioncolorsfromcholestericliquidcrystalsofetherifiedethylcellulosederivativesandmethacrylicacid |