Structural, thermodynamic, and mesomorphic consequences of replacing nitrates with trifluoroacetate counteranions in ternary lanthanide complexes with hexacatenar tridentate ligands

The thermal and mesomorphic properties of [Ln(Li(super c12)-CF(sub 3)CO(sub 2))(sub 3)], 14 complexes is investigated using combination of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and small-angle d(SAXS). Except for loss of cocrystallized water molecules in two of the complexes, TGA shows that complexes do not decompose prior to isotropization, which occurs around 208-248 degree Celsius.