Control of the transition temperatures of metallomesogens by specific interface design: application to Mn12 single molecule magnets.

Reaction of the Single Molecule Magnet [Mn(12)O(12)(CH(3)CO(2))(16)(H(2)O)(4)] (Mn(12)) with mesogenic dendritic ligands Li (i = 4, 5) quantitatively yields functional clusters [Mn(12)O(12)(Li-H)(16)(H(2)O)(4)] (i = 4, 5) that self-organize into a thermotropic SmA-type liquid crystalline phase. The perturbation of the molecular interface by methylation of the terminal mesogenic cyanobiphenyl groups induces a significant decrease of the clearing temperature without affecting the magnetic properties and the supramolecular organization of the Mn(12)-based clusters.