3D Liquid Crystal Framework Enclosing Dual Compartments.

We report a new 3D-ordered liquid-crystal (LC) phase where alkyl and fluoroalkyl side-chains are confined within separate stretched octahedral cages of a tetragonal framework with struts of aromatic rods held together by their hydrogen-bonded ends acting as flexible hinges. This is the first example of a multicolor micellar LC heralding the development of soft and dynamic dual-compartment frameworks, also capable of a martensitic-type phase transition.