Spectroscopic investigation on shuttlecock-shaped liquid crystalline trimers: Mesomorphic behaviour and its application in optical storage devices.

In this paper, we discuss the synthesis and characterization of 2,3,4-tris[n-((4-(-cyanophenyl)diazenyl)phenoxy)alkyloxy]benzonitrile obtained by coupling 2,3,4-trihydroxy benzonitrile and (E)-4-((4-((n-bromoalkyl)oxy)phenyl)diazenyl)benzonitrile, pertain to shuttlecock shaped liquid crystals. The molecular structure was confirmed by NMR spectroscopic and elemental analyzer. The thermal behavior of the trimers was assessed using a polarizing optical microscope (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The three diazo groups in the trimers enabled us to study the photo-isomerization effect and evaluate their potential applications in optical storage devices. Importantly, we found these trimers easy to synthesize and process, paving the way for cost-effective alternatives to traditional LC materials. We fabricated an optical storage device to study the light effects on shuttlecock-shaped LC trimers, demonstrating that the geometry of the trimers plays a crucial role in determining structure-property relationships.

Flexible and high energy density solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor based on polythiophene nanocomposites and charcoal.

An asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was constructed using a polythiophene/aluminium oxide (PTHA) nanocomposite as an anode electrode and charcoal as a cathode electrode. The highest specific capacitance (C sp) of the PTHA electrode was found to be 554.03 F g-1 at a current density (CD) of 1 A g-1 and that of the charcoal electrode was 374.71 F g-1 at 1.4 A g-1, measured using a three electrode system. The maximum C sp obtained for the assembled PTHA//charcoal asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was 265.14 F g-1 at 2 A g-1. It also showed a high energy density of 42.0 W h kg-1 at a power density of 735.86 W kg-1 and capacitance retention of 94.61% even after 2000 cycles. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the asymmetric device was used to illuminate a light emitting diode (LED) for more than 15 minutes. This PTHA//charcoal ASC also possesses stable electrochemical properties in different bending positions and hence finds a promising application in flexible, wearable and portable energy storage electronic devices.