A composition is provided which contains a compound represented by Formula (1) below and a polymerizable smectic liquid crystal compound: ##STR00001##
In Formula (1), R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-C20 alkyl group; R.sup.2 through R.sup.4 each independently represent a C1-C4 alkyl group; n, p, and q are each independently an integer of 0 to 2; and R.sup.5 is (i) a nitrogen-containing saturated heterocyclic group which is a 6-membered ring and in which N is bonded to a phenylene group, or (ii) a group in which N is bonded to at least one C1-C10 alkyl group.

A composition is provided which contains a compound represented by Formula (1) below and a polymerizable smectic liquid crystal compound: ##STR00001##
In Formula (1), R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-C20 alkyl group; R.sup.2 through R.sup.4 each independently represent a C1-C4 alkyl group; n, p, and q are each independently an integer of 0 to 2; and R.sup.5 is (i) a nitrogen-containing saturated heterocyclic group which is a 6-membered ring and in which N is bonded to a phenylene group, or (ii) a group in which N is bonded to at least one C1-C10 alkyl group.

An optically anisotropic layer including a polymer and a compound having a mesogen skeleton, wherein the polymer has a property such that a film of the polymer that is formed by a coating method using a solution of the polymer satisfies nz(P)>nx(P)ny(P), wherein nx(P) is a refractive index in a direction which, among in-plane directions of the film, gives a maximum refractive index, ny(P) is a refractive index in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of nx(P) among the in-plane directions of the film, and nz(P) a refractive index in a thickness direction of the film, and the compound having a mesogen skeleton shows an in-plane retardation with reverse wavelength distribution under specific conditions.

An optically anisotropic layer including a polymer and a compound having a mesogen skeleton, wherein the polymer has a property such that a film of the polymer that is formed by a coating method using a solution of the polymer satisfies nz(P)>nx(P)ny(P), wherein nx(P) is a refractive index in a direction which, among in-plane directions of the film, gives a maximum refractive index, ny(P) is a refractive index in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of nx(P) among the in-plane directions of the film, and nz(P) a refractive index in a thickness direction of the film, and the compound having a mesogen skeleton shows an in-plane retardation with reverse wavelength distribution under specific conditions.

The present invention is a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal layer containing a liquid crystal material, a sealing member surrounding the liquid crystal layer in a plan view, a pair of substrates sandwiching the liquid crystal layer, and an alignment control layer being in contact with the liquid crystal layer in a region surrounded by the sealing member in a plan view. The alignment control layer aligns a liquid crystal compound in the liquid crystal material in a direction horizontal to faces of the substrates, and contains a polymer formed by polymerization of at least one monomer, and the at least one monomer contains a monomer represented by the following Chemical formula (1):

##STR00001##

wherein at least one hydrogen atom of the phenylene group may be the same or different and may be substituted with a halogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, or a propyl group.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a liquid-crystal compound which exhibits liquid crystallinity at low temperatures. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermally responsive material which exhibits liquid crystallinity and rubber elasticity at low temperatures (around room temperature) ever, though a large amount of a liquid-crystal compound is contained therein, and a method for producing this thermally responsive material. A liquid-crystal compound according to the present invention is obtained by adding an alkylene oxide and/or styrene oxide to a mesogenic group-containing compound that has an active hydrogen group.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a liquid-crystal compound which exhibits liquid crystallinity at low temperatures. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermally responsive material which exhibits liquid crystallinity and rubber elasticity at low temperatures (around room temperature) ever, though a large amount of a liquid-crystal compound is contained therein, and a method for producing this thermally responsive material. A liquid-crystal compound according to the present invention is obtained by adding an alkylene oxide and/or styrene oxide to a mesogenic group-containing compound that has an active hydrogen group.

A liquid crystal composition contains a side chain type polymer liquid crystalline compound which can form a light absorption anisotropic film having a high alignment degree and has excellent solubility in a general-purpose solvent, a light absorption anisotropic film obtained using the composition, a laminate, and an image display device. The composition includes: a side chain type polymer liquid crystalline compound; and a dichroic substance, in which the compound is a copolymer having a repeating unit (1) containing a mesogenic group with a molecular weight of greater than 280 and a repeating unit (2) with a molecular weight of 280 or less, a content of the repeating unit (2) is less than 14% by mass with respect to a total mass of the compound, and a content of the dichroic substance is greater than 2% by mass with respect to a total solid content of the composition.

A liquid crystal composition contains a side chain type polymer liquid crystalline compound which can form a light absorption anisotropic film having a high alignment degree and has excellent solubility in a general-purpose solvent, a light absorption anisotropic film obtained using the composition, a laminate, and an image display device. The composition includes: a side chain type polymer liquid crystalline compound; and a dichroic substance, in which the compound is a copolymer having a repeating unit (1) containing a mesogenic group with a molecular weight of greater than 280 and a repeating unit (2) with a molecular weight of 280 or less, a content of the repeating unit (2) is less than 14% by mass with respect to a total mass of the compound, and a content of the dichroic substance is greater than 2% by mass with respect to a total solid content of the composition.

A method for producing a photostable reactive mesogen alignment layer includes infusing an anisotropic dye into a microcavity so as to coat the an surface of the microcavity with the anisotropic dye; illuminating the anisotropic dye with polarized light so as to form an anisotropic dye layer aligned with respect to the inner surface of the microcavity; infusing a reactive mesogen and the liquid crystal material into the microcavity; illuminating the reactive mesogen at a wavelength selected to cause polymerization of the layer of the reactive mesogen so as to form a polymerized reactive mesogen layer; aligning the liquid crystal material with respect to the anisotropic dye layer; and bleaching the anisotropic dye layer.