Advanced Materials, Vol.10, No.8, 606-606, 1998
Gelation of room-temperature liquid crystals by the association of a trans-1,2-bis(amino)cyclohexane derivative
Communication: The formation of an anisotropic gel-a member of a new class of gel-is described. A structure is proposed for the liquid-crystalline gel (see also the cover of this issue), which was formed by the gelation of a room-temperature nematic liquid crystal, achieved by the self-aggregation of low-molecular-weight molecules through hydrogen bonding. It is shown that the mixture studied exists in three states, anisotropic gel, normal gel, and isotropic liquid, all of which are thermally reversible. Preliminary measurements of the response of the anisotropic gel to electric fields are presented.