Addition of liquid-crystalline dendrimers onto [60]fullerene led to thermotropic liquid crystals which displayed various types of mesophases, including chiral nematic, smectic B, smectic A and columnar phases. This approach represents an interesting way for the design of self-organized structures based on [60]fullerene, and opens the way to optoelectronic applications for this carbon allotrope, such as for the development of photovoltaic devices and molecular switches.

Comparison of the liquid-crystalline properties of a pillar[5]arene core functionalized with 10 mesogenic cyanobiphenyl units with those of a corresponding model compound revealed the strong influence of the macrocyclic pillar[5]arene core on the mesomorphic properties.

Two concepts have been developed for the design of [60]fullerene-containing thermotropic liquid crystals, namely, the covalent and non-covalent concepts. In the covalent approach, C₆₀ was functionalized with liquid-crystalline addends (malonate and aldehyde derivatives) by applying either the Bingel reaction or the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction. In the non-covalent approach, a liquid-crystalline inclusion complex was obtained from mesomorphic cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) derivatives and C₆₀. All of the covalent C₆₀ derivatives showed smectic A phases. In one case, an additional nematic phase was detected. The [C₆₀⊂(CTV)₂] complex gave rise to nematic-like and cubic phases. The covalent and non-covalent approaches demonstrate the various possibilities for C₆₀ to give rise to mesomorphic materials.

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction was used to assemble fullerene, ferrocene and a second-generation liquid-crystalline cyanobiphenyl-based dendrimer. The targeted compound displayed an enantiotropic smectic A phase from 40 to 135 °C. The d-layer spacing was determined by X-ray diffraction, and was found to be independent of temperature with a value of 95 Å. Molecular modeling and structural considerations suggested partial bilayer organization of the mesogenic molecular units within the smectic layers. Oxidation or reduction processes of the basic components (ferrocene, fullerene, dendrimer) were investigated by electrochemical techniques, and were in agreement with the structure. Photoinduced electron transfer from ferrocene to fullerene was identified, most likely with a “through space” mechanism.