Unconventional ionic liquid crystals in which the liquid crystallinity is enabled by halogen-bonded supramolecular anions [Cn F2 n+1 -I⋅⋅⋅I⋅⋅⋅I-Cn F2 n+1 ](-) are reported. The material system is unique in many ways, demonstrating for the first time 1) ionic, halogen-bonded liquid crystals, and 2) imidazolium-based ionic liquid crystals in which the occurrence of liquid crystallinity is not driven by the alkyl chains of the cation.
Keywords: fluorophobic effect; halogen bonding; ionic liquid crystals; self-assembly; supramolecular chemistry.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.