METAL-CONTAINING LIQUID-CRYSTALS WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN OPTICAL STORAGE DEVICES

Three optically active oxovanadium(IV)-containing metallomesogens have been prepared and their mesomorphic properties investigated. It is fo und that enantiotropic chiral phases are stabilized when the molecular system promotes the anti-ferromagnetic coupling of individual molecul es into associated pairs. The molecular optical rotation of the non-me somorphic ligands is greatly enhanced on complexation to an oxovanadiu m(IV) metal centre to give the mesogenic complex. The mesophase alignm ent can be retained by cooling to room temperature and this may be uti lized in the fabrication of a low cost, multi-session, 'write-read-era se' optical storage device with low power consumption.