Provided is a polarizer-forming composition from which a polarizer with a high degree of alignment and excellent heat resistance can be formed, a polarizer, and an image display device. The polarizer-forming composition includes a liquid crystal compound, and a dichroic material, in which the liquid crystal compound is a polymer liquid crystal compound, and a content of a component having a number average molecular weight of 1000 or less which is contained in the polymer liquid crystal compound is in a range of 0.10% to 5.0% by mass.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal film having an optically anisotropic layer having excellent alignment and excellent adhesiveness. The present invention further provides an optical laminate, a circularly polarizing plate, and an organic EL display device, each of which uses the optically anisotropic layer. The liquid crystal film of an embodiment of the present invention is a liquid crystal film having at least an optically anisotropic layer formed with a liquid crystal composition including a polymerizable liquid crystal compound and a fluoroaliphatic group-containing copolymer, and a support, in which the fluoroaliphatic group-containing copolymer has a repeating unit derived from a fluoroaliphatic group-containing monomer represented by General Formula (1) and a repeating unit having a polymerizable group polymerizable with the polymerizable liquid crystal compound. ##STR00001##

An object of the present invention is to provide a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having excellent solubility, which is used for the formation of an optically anisotropic film having excellent durability, a method for producing the same, a polymerizable liquid crystal composition, an optically anisotropic film, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device. The polymerizable liquid crystal compound of the embodiment of the present invention is a polymerizable liquid crystal compound represented by Formula (1), L.sup.1-SP.sup.1-A.sup.1-D.sup.3-G.sup.1-D.sup.1-Ar-D.sup.2-G.sup.2-D.sup.4-A.sup.2-SP.sup.2-L.sup.2 . . . (1) in Formula (1), the ClogP value of the group represented by L.sup.1-SP.sup.1-A.sup.1-D.sup.3-G.sup.1-D.sup.1 and the ClogP value of the group represented by L.sup.2-SP.sup.2-A.sup.2-D.sup.4-G.sup.2-D.sup.2 are different from each other, and at least one of the ClogP values is 3.3 or more.

Provided is a compound which is capable of reducing a tilt angle of a liquid crystal molecule, and a polymerizable composition, a cured product, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device, each using the compound. The compound is represented, for example, by Formula (I), P-Sp-Z-G.sup.1-(X.sup.1-Cy.sup.1)n-(X.sup.2-A.sup.1)m-X.sup.3-A.sup.2.

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 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.

The present invention relates to a liquid crystalline medium comprising dichroitic dyes made of benzothiadiazoles and related extended heterocyclic derivatives, the use of said medium for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in devices for regulating the passage of radiation energy from an outside space into an inside space, for example in windows. The invention further relates to devices containing the liquid crystalline medium according to the invention. Some new dichroitic dyes are disclosed.

The invention relates to novel compositions comprising at least two anisotropic compounds of formula

##STR00001##

as well as to liquid crystalline networks, films and electro-optical devices comprising the compositions.

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.