A liquid-crystal (LC) material comprising a compound of formula I and a compound of formula CPY and one or more compounds of formulae IIA, IIB, IIC and IID wherein the compound of the formula CPY is excluded from the formula IIB, having negative dielectric anisotropy and the use thereof for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, such as for example in LC displays, in particular energy saving displays based on the ECB, IPS or FFS effect.

The present invention provides: a liquid crystal alignment film which has good liquid crystal alignment properties, while having excellent pretilt angle developability; a liquid crystal display element which is provided with this liquid crystal alignment film; and a liquid crystal aligning agent which enables the achievement of this liquid crystal alignment film. The present invention provides a liquid crystal aligning agent which contains: as a component (A), a compound that has a thermally crosslinkable group and a photo-alignment group represented by formula (pa-1), wherein the thermally crosslinkable group is capable of forming a covalent bond by being reacted with a carboxy group; and as a component (B), a polyamic acid and a solvent. (In formula (pa-1), A represents a phenylene group or the like; R1 represents COO or OCO; R2 represents a cyclohexane-1,4-diyl group; R3 represents a cyclohexane-1,4-diyl group; R4 represents a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 40 carbon atoms, and some or all of the hydrogen atoms in this alkyl group may be substituted by fluorine atoms; D represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or NRd-; a represents an integer of 0 to 3; and * denotes a bonding position.)

The new LC media exhibit a new spontaneous, self-supporting ferroelectric smectic phase. They typically comprise one or more dielectrical neutral, aromatic compounds described further in the description in a highly polar host mixture typical for ferro-electric nematic mixtures. The mixtures are useful for electro-optics, electronics, electro-mechanic and other applications for materials with very high dielectric permittivity. In addition, the present invention relates to liquid crystal devices, electric and electronic elements which contain the liquid crystalline media according to the invention.

A polymerisable LC medium comprising one or more di- or multireactive mesogenic compounds, one or more chiral compounds with (s)-configuration, and one or more chiral compounds with (R)-configuration, wherein at least one of the chiral compounds comprises an photoisomerisable group. Further, a method for its preparation, a polymer film obtainable from a corresponding polymerisable LC medium, and a method of preparation of such polymer film. The polymer films may be used for purposes such as, for example, adjusting optical properties of a liquid crystal display (LCD), improving light utilization efficiency, ensuring anti-reflectivity and visibility in an organic light emitting device (OLED), or for AV/VR. Further, the use of such polymer film and said polymerisable LC medium for optical, electro-optical, decorative or security applications and for corresponding devices.

A liquid crystal (LC) medium comprising one or more polymerizable compounds, its use for optical, electro-optical, and electronic purposes, in particular in LC displays, especially in LC displays of the PSA (polymer sustained alignment) or SA (self-aligning) mode. Also, an LC display of the PSA or SA mode comprising the LC medium, and a process of manufacturing the LC display using the LC medium, especially an energy-saving LC display and energy-saving LC display production process.

Liquid-crystalline (LC) media having positive dielectric anisotropy and liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) containing these media, especially displays addressed by an active matrix and in particular LC displays of the TN, PS-TN, STN, TN-TFT, OCB, IPS, PS-IPS, FFS, HB-FFS, XB-FFS, PS-FFS, SA-HB-FFS, SA-XB-FFS, polymer stabilised SA-HB-FFS, polymer stabilised SA-XB-FFS, positive VA or positive PS-VA type.

Material comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase, the material are disclosed. The material can include a mixture comprising first molecules and second molecules. At least one of a fluid of the first molecules and a fluid of the second molecules exhibits a ferroelectric nematic phase. The first molecules and second molecules are miscible. The first molecules can induce a polar orientational order of said second molecules.