Disclosed is a polymerizable compound useful in the preparation of a polymer which is capable of producing, for example, an optical film having excellent in-plane thickness uniformity and improved in-plane uniformity in optical properties. The polymerizable compound of the present disclosure is represented by formula (I):

##STR00001##

where Ar is represented by the following formula (II-1) or (II-2):

##STR00002##

The present application relates to a liquid-crystalline material comprising a sterically hindered N-oxide and a dye. The invention furthermore relates to the use of the liquid-crystalline material in an optical switching device for regulation of the passage of sunlight.

The present invention relates to thiadiazoloquinoxaline derivatives of the formula I, ##STR00001##
in which R.sup.11, R.sup.12, A.sup.11, A.sup.12, A.sup.21, A.sup.22, Z.sup.11, Z.sup.12, Z.sup.21, Z.sup.22, W, X.sup.11, X.sup.12, r and s have the meanings indicated in Claim 1, to processes and intermediates for the preparation thereof, to the use of the compounds of the formula I for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in liquid-crystal media and in devices for regulating the passage of energy from an outside space into an inside space, and to these LC media and the devices comprising these media.

The present invention provides a polymerizable compound that reduces, for example, the likelihood of crystals precipitating in a polymerizable composition including the polymerizable compound and enables the polymerizable composition to have high preservation stability and a polymerizable composition including the polymerizable compound which reduces the likelihood of inconsistencies being formed in a film-like polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable composition. Also provided are a polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable composition and an optically anisotropic body including the polymer. The present invention provides the compound represented by General Formula (I), a composition including the compound, a polymer produced by polymerizing the composition, and an optically anisotropic body including the polymer.

The present invention relates to heteroaromatic compounds which have two different reactive groups, their use in the synthesis of asymmetrically substituted compounds, and synthesis processes in which the compounds according to the invention are reacted sequentially with two different compounds, whereby an asymmetrically substituted compound is formed.

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 invention relates to a polymerisable LC material comprising at least one di- or multireactive mesogenic compound of formula T,

R.sup.T1-(A.sup.T1Z.sup.T1).sub.m1-G.sup.T1-(Z.sup.T2-A.sup.T2).sub.m2-R.sup.T2T

and at least one compound of formula CO-1,

##STR00001##

wherein the parameter are R.sup.T1, A.sup.T1, Z.sup.T1, m1, G.sup.T1, Z.sup.T2, A.sup.T2, m2, R.sup.T2, L.sup.1 to L.sup.3, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, and n are defined as given in claim 1.

Furthermore, the present invention relates also to a method for its preparation, a polymer film with improved thermal durability obtainable from the corresponding polymerisable LC material, to a method of preparation of such polymer film, and to the use of such polymer film and said polymerisable LC material for optical, electro-optical, decorative or security devices.

The present invention provides an optically anisotropic film exhibiting excellent reciprocal wavelength dispersion, a circularly polarizing plate, and a display device. The optically anisotropic film of an embodiment of the present invention is an optically anisotropic film formed from a composition including a liquid crystal compound and an infrared absorbing dye, in which the optically anisotropic film satisfies a relationship of Formula (A): Re(450)/Re(550)<1, and an absorption at a wavelength of 700 to 900 nm in the fast axis direction of the optically anisotropic film is larger than an absorption at a wavelength of 700 to 900 nm in the slow axis direction of the optically anisotropic film. In Formula (A), Re(450) represents an in-plane retardation of the optically anisotropic film at a wavelength of 450 nm and Re(550) represents an in-plane retardation of the optically anisotropic film at a wavelength of 550 nm.

A liquid crystal composition including a polymerizable liquid crystal compound capable of expressing birefringence with reverse wavelength distribution and a surfactant containing a fluorine atom, a 1-octanol/water partition coefficient of the surfactant being less than 5.0.

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.