Chiral Mesophases of 12-Hydroxyoctadecanoic Acid in Jelly and in the Solid State. I. A New Type of Lyotropic Mesophase in Jelly with Organic Solvents

Abstract

Abstract Thermally reversible jellies of optically active 12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid (12HOA) with CCl4 or aromatic solvents form a lyotropic mesophase, which shows enantiomeric circular dichroism (CD) and induced CD due to achiral molecules added to the jellies, indicating that the jellies have a supramolecular helicoidal structure. The X-ray examination revealed that the jellies are composed of a number of small, ordered domains with such a lamellar structure as is observed in the crystalline solid. The supramolecular helicoidal structure was associated with the lamellar structure; as a result, it was suggested that the lyotropic mesophase has a chiral smectic structure and, furthermore, that the mesophase is present in thin, fibrous aggregates of 12HOA molecules within which the jellies are enmeshed.