The present invention provides a novel method for producing a 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole derivative. The present invention also provides a method for producing a compound by using the 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole derivative obtained by the production method, and a composition that contains the compound. The present invention also provides a polymerizable composition that is useful in producing film-shaped polymers and contains the compound obtained by the production method. The invention of the present application provides a method for producing a compound represented by general formula (I-C), the method including a step of reacting a compound represented by general formula (I-B) with a compound represented by general formula (I-A) in the presence of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of metal amides, metal hydrides, metal alkoxides, and organic alkali metals. A compound derived from the compound produced by the production method, and a composition that contains the compound are also provided.

An object of the present invention is to provide a polymerizable liquid crystal composition used for formation of an optically anisotropic film having excellent moisture-heat resistance and an excellent surface condition, an optically anisotropic film, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition of an embodiment of the present invention is a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable liquid crystal compound and a compound represented by Formula (1): L.sup.1-SP.sup.1-(E.sup.3-A.sup.1).sub.m-E.sup.1-G.sup.1-C(═O)—O—C(═O)-G.sup.2-E.sup.2-(A.sup.2-E.sup.4).sub.n-SP.sup.2-L.sup.2, in which a content of the compound represented by Formula (1) is 0.01 to 5 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound.

To suppress a phenomenon where an optical axis of the optically anisotropic layer is tilted when the optically anisotropic layer is produced by using a liquid crystalline compound showing smectic phase as a materials showing a higher level of orderliness. An optically anisotropic layer wherein a polymerizable composition, containing one or more polymerizable rod-like liquid crystal compound showing a smectic phase, is fixed in a state of smectic phase, and a direction of maximum refractive index of the optically anisotropic layer is inclined at 10 or smaller to the surface of the optically anisotropic layer, a method for manufacturing the same, a laminate and a method for manufacturing the same, a polarizing plate, a liquid crystal display device, and an organic EL display device.

An object of the invention is to provide a coloring composition which can form a light absorption anisotropic film having an excellent dichroic ratio, a dichroic dye compound, a light absorption anisotropic film, a laminate, and an image display device. A coloring composition according to the invention contains a dichroic dye compound which has a Hansen solubility parameter of 17.5 or greater and has a structure represented by Formula (1), and a liquid crystalline compound.
L.sup.1-A.sup.1-NN-A.sup.2-NN-A.sup.3-L.sup.2(1) in Formula (1), A.sup.1, A.sup.2, and A.sup.3 each independently represent a divalent aromatic group which may have a substituent. Any one of A.sup.1, A.sup.2, and A.sup.3 represents a divalent thienothiazole group which may have a substituent. In Formula (1), L.sup.1 and L.sup.2 each independently represent a substituent.

A container suitable for storing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition liquid intended for providing, after temporal or long-term storage, a liquid crystal cured layer that is homogeneous and hardly causes alignment defects is described. A container containing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition liquid includes a gas phase part and a liquid phase part containing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition liquid. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition liquid contains a polymerizable liquid crystal compound; at least one solvent selected from a ketone solvent, an amide solvent, an ester solvent, and an ether solvent; a photopolymerization initiator, and a polymerization inhibitor in an amount of 0.1% by mass or more and 2% by mass or less based on the polymerizable liquid crystal compound. The gas phase part has an oxygen concentration of 0.05% by volume or more and 20.8% by volume or less.

A liquid crystal cured layer formed of a cured product of a liquid crystal composition, wherein the liquid crystal composition contains a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having a reverse wavelength dispersion property, and a copolymer containing a monomer unit A including a monovalent group containing an aromatic ring and a monomer unit B containing a monovalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group optionally having a substituent, a main chain mesogen of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound in the liquid crystal cured layer is oriented at a tilt angle of 85 to 90 with respect to a layer plane of the liquid crystal cured layer.

An object of the present invention is to provide: an optical element in which incident light can be transmitted or reflected at an angle in the predetermined direction and the wavelength dependence of the amount of transmitted light or reflected light is small; and an optical element including the optical element. The optical element according to the present invention comprises: an optically-anisotropic layer that is formed using a composition including a liquid crystal compound and an infrared absorbing colorant, in which the optically-anisotropic layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, and an absorption of the infrared absorbing colorant in a wavelength range of 700 to 2000 nm in a minor axis direction is higher than an absorption of the infrared absorbing colorant in a wavelength range of 700 to 2000 nm in a major axis direction.

Provided is a circularly polarizing plate and a display device that includes the circularly polarizing plate. The circularly polarizing plate can be applied to a display device such as an organic light emitting display device to minimize blocking of light in the visible light region affecting image quality while blocking harmful ultraviolet rays appropriately and also has excellent durability.

A liquid-crystal (LC) material 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, where the liquid crystal medium contains one or more compounds of formula I

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and one or more compounds compounds of formulae IIA, IIB, IIC and IID

##STR00002##

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical film which is excellent in the adhesiveness between a polymer support and a photo alignment film and in which a liquid crystal compound having reverse wavelength dispersibility is uniformly aligned. Another object of the present invention is to provide a polarizing plate formed of the optical film, and an image display device formed of the optical film or the polarizing plate.

An optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention is obtained by laminating, in the following order: a polymer support containing an additive; a photo alignment film; and an optically anisotropic film, the optically anisotropic film is formed of a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having reverse wavelength dispersibility, and an amount of a component derived from the additive of the polymer support, which is contained in a boundary region with the optically anisotropic film in the photo alignment film is 0.10 to 0.50 mass % with respect to a total mass of the photo alignment film.