TY - JOUR A1 - Yildirim, Arda A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Sentker, K. A1 - Butschies, M. A1 - Bühlmeyer, A. A1 - Huber, P. A1 - Laschat, S. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Dynamics and ionic conductivity of ionic liquid crystals forming a hexagonal columnar mesophase N2 - For the first time, the molecular mobility of two linear-shaped tetramethylated guanidinium triflate ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) having different length of alkyl chains were investigated by a combination of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and specific heat spectroscopy (SHS). By self-assembly, these ILCs can form a hexagonal ordered mesophase besides plastic crystalline phases and the isotropic state. Three dielectric active processes were found by BDS for both samples. At low temperatures, a γ-process in the plastic crystalline state is observed which is assigned to localized fluctuations of methyl groups including nitrogen atoms in the guanidinium head. At higher temperatures but still in the plastic crystalline state, an α1-process takes place. An α2 process was detected by SHS but with a completely different temperature dependence of the relaxation times than that of the α1-relaxation. This result is discussed in detail, and different molecular assignments of the processes are suggested. At even higher temperatures, electrical conductivity is detected and an increase in the DC conductivity by four orders of magnitude at the phase transition from the plastic crystalline to the hexagonal columnar mesophase is found. This result is traced to a change in the charge transport mechanism from a delocalized electron hopping in the stacked aromatic systems (in the plastic phase) to one dominated by an ionic conduction in the quasi-1D ion channels formed along the supermolecular columns in the ILCs hexagonal mesophases. KW - Ionic liquid crystalls PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp08186c SN - 1463-9084 SN - 1463-9076 VL - 20 IS - 8 SP - 5626 EP - 5635 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-44254 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -