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Luminescent liquid crystalline materials based on metal clusters (MESOCLUST)
Start date: Dec 1, 2011, End date: Nov 30, 2013 PROJECT  FINISHED 

"The “MESOCLUST” project, which predominantly addresses fundamental research but also aims to take the benefit of further industrial applications, explores a completely new concept regarding the liquid-crystalline materials, namely CLUSTOMESOGENS, reported for the first time in 2010 (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 3351).The main objective of this proposal is the design of new hybrid materials showing liquid crystalline properties as well as bright luminescence in the red-NIR range by coupling metallic clusters with mesogenic units. The metal atom cluster has two important roles: on one hand, can control the self-organization process of the material, and, on the other hand, add its intrinsic properties (luminescence, magnetism, redox) to the final material. Among the different families of metal clusters, octahedral clusters (Mo6 and Re6) were retained for this proposal because of their wide range of physical and chemical properties and, in particular, for their luminescence properties.The novelty of this work consists in compensating the lack of processability of M6 clusters synthesized by solid state chemistry (essentially due to their ceramic-like behaviour in the solid state) by designing nanohybrid inorganic-organic materials that subsequently show liquid crystal properties. It allows therefore their self organization at the molecular scale by a simple heating-cooling process. This project will give more opportunities to the host group to stay the leader in the field at the international level. Although at a first glance, the work is of peculiar interest to academics from a range of backgrounds, in particular to supramolecular, coordination, solid state and material chemists as well as physicists, there is a considerable industrial and commercial potential in the medium and long term as stated in the SusChem Strategic Research Agenda."
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