An object of the present invention is to provide a phase difference film having excellent alignment without the need for alignment treatment on a support, a method for manufacturing a phase difference film, a polarizing plate, and a liquid crystal display device. The phase difference film of the present invention includes a support, and a liquid crystal layer formed of a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystalline compound so as to be in contact with the support, in which a surface energy of a surface of the support on which the liquid crystal layer is formed is 45 mN/m or more and a non-polar dispersion force component included in the surface energy is 45 mN/m or more, the liquid crystalline compound is immobilized in an aligned state, and a contrast is more than 10000.

The present invention provides an optical film exhibiting high alignment and good phase difference development in an oblique direction, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the same. This optical film of the present invention has a substrate; and a phase difference layer which is provided on the substrate to be adjacent to the substrate, in which the phase difference layer is a layer formed by fixing vertical alignment of a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group included in a liquid crystal composition containing the liquid crystal compound and a polymer compound, a difference in a value between the polymer compound and the substrate, which is calculated using three-dimensional SP values, is 3 or less, and a content of the polymer compound is less than 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the liquid crystal compound.

An electronic switching element is described having, in sequence, a first electrode, a molecular layer bonded to a substrate, and a second electrode. The molecular layer contains compounds of formula I, R.sup.1-(A.sup.1-Z.sup.1).sub.rB.sup.1(Z.sup.2-A.sup.2).sub.s-Sp-G, wherein A.sup.1, A.sup.2, B.sup.1, Z.sup.1, Z.sup.2, Sp, G, r, and s are as defined herein, in which a mesogenic radical is bonded to the substrate via a spacer group, Sp, by means of an anchor group, G. The switching element is suitable for production of components that can operate as a memristive device for digital information storage.

An electronic switching element (1) which comprises, in this sequence, a first electrode (16), a molecular layer (18) bonded to a substrate, and a second electrode (20), where the molecular layer essentially consists of compounds of the formula I indicated in claim 1, in which a mesogenic radical is bonded to the substrate via a spacer group (Sp) by means of an anchor group (G), is suitable for the production of components (1) as memristive device for digital information storage.

The present invention relates to compounds which are suitable for use in electronic devices, preferably organic electroluminescent devices.

An object of the present invention is a liquid crystal composition which has excellent alignment properties, improves a surface state of an optically anisotropic layer to be formed, and improves adhesiveness with a polarizer, an optical film using the same, a polarizing plate, and an image display device. The liquid crystal composition according to the present invention is a liquid crystal composition containing a copolymer having a repeating unit represented by Formula (I) and a repeating unit represented by Formula (II), and a liquid crystal compound.

##STR00001##

The present invention provides an optical film exhibiting high alignment and good phase difference development in an oblique direction, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the same. This optical film of the present invention has a substrate; and a phase difference layer which is provided on the substrate to be adjacent to the substrate, in which the phase difference layer is a layer formed by fixing vertical alignment of a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group included in a liquid crystal composition containing the liquid crystal compound and a polymer compound, a difference in ?a value between the polymer compound and the substrate, which is calculated using three-dimensional SP values, is 3 or less, and a content of the polymer compound is less than 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the liquid crystal compound.

A liquid crystal composition including: a liquid crystal compound and a liquid crystal aligning agent containing at least one compound represented by Formula 1:

##STR00001## wherein in the Formula 1, X-*, *-L.sub.1-*, *-L.sub.2-*, *-L.sub.3-*, *C*, *-R-*, Y-*, n.sub.1, n.sub.2, and m is the same as defined in the specification.

Embodiments of improved methods are provided to form ordered structures on a surface of a substrate using direct self-assembly (DSA) of ionic liquid crystals (ILCs). More specifically, various embodiments of methods are provided to control the pitch of a layered structure formed on a substrate surface via self-assembly of ILCs having cation head groups, alkyl tail groups and anions. In the embodiments disclosed herein, the pitch of the layered structure is controlled by: (a) controlling the cation/anion charge ratio of the cation head groups and anions included within the ILCs, and/or (b) adding an ionic liquid to a solution comprising the ILCs.

Embodiments of improved methods are provided to form ordered structures on a surface of a substrate using direct self-assembly (DSA) of ionic liquid crystals (ILCs). More specifically, various embodiments of methods are provided to control the phase of an ordered structure formed on a substrate surface via self-assembly of ILCs having cation head groups, alkyl tail groups having a plurality of hydrocarbons and anions. In the embodiments disclosed herein, the phase of the ordered structure is controlled by replacing the hydrogen (H) atoms of the hydrocarbons included the alkyl chain with larger sized functional groups. Adding larger sized functional groups to the alkyl chain changes the phase of the ordered structure by: (a) increasing the separation between the hydrophilic (cation) and hydrophobic (alkyl tail) groups of the ILCs, and (b) changing the orientation of alkyl tails within the tail groups of the self-assembled ILCs.