Green chemistry: Scientists develop new process for more eco-friendly
liquid crystals

Date:
March 1, 2022
Source:
Martin-Luther-Universita"t Halle-Wittenberg
Summary:
Liquid crystals could soon be produced more efficiently and
in a more environmentally friendly way. A new process has been
developed. Compared to conventional methods, it is faster, more
energy-efficient and promises a high yield. Liquid crystals are
used in most smartphone, tablet and computer displays.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Liquid crystals could soon be produced more efficiently and in a
more environmentally friendly way. A new process has been developed by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Germany, Bangalore University in India and Cairo University in Egypt. Compared to conventional methods, it is faster, more energy-efficient and promises a
high yield as the team reports in the Journal of Molecular Liquids. Liquid crystals are used in most smartphone, tablet and computer displays.


==========================================================================
The production of liquid crystals is a complex process with many
intermediate steps. "Often it requires various solvents and expensive catalysts," says Dr Mohamed Alaasar, a chemist at MLU. The team from
Germany, India and Egypt was looking for a way to simplify the process
and make it more environmentally friendly. The idea: instead of the
chemical reactions taking place one after the other, certain steps could
be combined in a so-called multicomponent reaction in which several
substances react directly with one another.

The team developed an approach for producing liquid crystals which
does not require environmentally harmful solvents and relies on cheaper catalysts. "We were able to achieve a yield of about 90 per cent. This
means that most of the chemicals are used in the process and relatively
few residues are produced," explains Alaasar. This saves energy and
ultimately also money. At room temperature the newly created liquid
crystals are in a nematic phase -- a special arrangement of molecules
used in most liquid crystal displays or LCDs.

So far, the researchers have only tested their new process in the
laboratory.

However, Alaasar is confident that it could also be implemented on an industrial scale. "However, manufacturers would have to rebuild parts
of their manufacturing. This has not happened in the past with other
promising materials," says the scientist. However, consumers started
valuing sustainability and more environmentally friendly products of
the last years.

That could be an additional argument in favour for the new approach.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Martin-Luther-Universita"t_Halle-Wittenberg. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. G. Shanker, M.K. Srinatha, D. Sandhya Kumari, B.S. Ranjitha,
M. Alaasar.

Novel green synthetic approach for liquid crystalline materials
using multi-component reactions. Journal of Molecular Liquids,
2022; 346: 118244 DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.118244 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220301131140.htm

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