An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a reflective layer having an excellent diffuse reflectivity and a wide reflection wavelength range. Another object of the present invention is to provide a reflective layer having an excellent diffuse reflectivity and a wide reflection wavelength range.

The method for producing a reflective layer of the present invention includes: a step 1 of applying a composition selected from the group consisting of the following composition X and the following composition Y onto a substrate to form a composition layer; a step 2 of heating the composition layer to align a liquid crystal compound in the composition layer into a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase state; a step 3 of cooling or heating the composition layer in a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase state to reduce a helical pitch; and a step 4 of irradiating at least a partial region of the composition layer with light, between the step 1 and the step 2, between the step 2 and the step 3, or after the step 3, to photosensitize a chiral agent A or a chiral agent C in the composition layer. Composition X: a composition including a liquid crystal compound, a chiral agent A whose helical twisting power is changed upon light irradiation, and a chiral agent B whose helical twisting power is increased upon cooling or heating. Composition Y: a composition including a liquid crystal compound and a chiral agent C whose helical twisting power is changed upon light irradiation and whose helical twisting power is increased upon cooling or heating.

The present invention provides a polymerizable compound having high storage stability without causing crystal precipitation when added to a polymerizable composition. The present invention also provides a polymerizable composition containing the compound. When the filmy polymer produced through polymerization of the polymerizable composition is irradiated with UV light, it hardly discolors or peels from substrate. Further, the present invention provides a polymer produced through polymerization of the polymerizable composition and an optically anisotropic body using the polymer.

Object To provide a tilt-imparted liquid crystal display element that is obtained through UV irradiation of a polymerizable liquid crystal composition, whose drive voltage can be reduced with a fast decay time maintained, and that is well balanced between characteristics, such as decay time, drive voltage, and transmittance. A polymerizable liquid crystal composition for use in it is also provided. Solution A liquid crystal display element has polymer networks formed in the liquid crystal phase 5 in FIG. 3. The polymer networks are formed by polymerizing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition that contains, as essential ingredients, a radically polymerizable monomer component (A), a liquid crystal material (B), and a polymerization initiator (C) that has a molecular structure resulting from substituting any two or more hydrogen atoms in the aromatic nucleus in the molecular structure of an alkylphenone-based photopolymerization initiator, for example with a C1-10 alkyl group (i).

The present invention provides a liquid crystal display including: a first substrate; a second substrate configured to be separated from and overlap the first substrate; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and including liquid crystal molecules; a first polymer layer disposed between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer; a second polymer layer disposed between the second substrate and the liquid crystal layer; and a plurality of protrusions disposed in at least one of a first position between the first polymer layer and the liquid crystal layer and a second position between the second polymer layer and the liquid crystal layer, in which the protrusions include polymers of reactive mesogens, and the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer include a polymer of a compound represented by Chemical Formula 1. ##STR00001##

A liquid crystal composition including: a polymerizable liquid crystal compound capable of expressing birefringence with inverse wavelength dispersion; a surfactant containing a fluorine atom; and a solvent, wherein the surfactant contains a fluorine atom at a ratio of 30% by weight or less in a molecule of the surfactant.

There are provided a liquid crystal composition containing one or two or more compounds represented by general formula (L) and three or four or more dichroic dyes selected from azo compounds, and a guest-host liquid crystal display device or light-controlling device that uses the liquid crystal composition. The liquid crystal composition according to the present invention contains dichroic dyes that satisfy high contrast, high solubility, high nematic-isotropic transition temperature (T.sub.NI), and low birefringent anisotropy (n) effective for high light resistance and high thermal resistance at the same time. The use of the liquid crystal composition according to the present invention provides a liquid crystal display device or a light-controlling device that exhibits a good-looking black color and has high contrast, high display quality, and high practicality.

The invention relates to a compound of formula I, ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.11, R.sup.21, A.sup.11, A, Z, X.sup.11, X.sup.21, Y.sup.11, Y.sup.12, Sp.sup.11, Sp.sup.21, o and p have one of the meanings as given in claim 1. The invention further relates to method of production of a compound of formula I, to the use of said compounds in LC media and to LC media comprising one or more compounds of formula I. Further, the invention relates to a method of production of such LC media, to the use of such media in LC devices, and to LC device comprising a LC medium according to the present invention. The present invention further relates to a process for the fabrication such liquid crystal display and to the use of the liquid crystal mixtures according to the invention for the fabrication of such liquid crystal display.

The invention relates to a compound of formula I, ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.11, R.sup.21, A.sup.11, A, Z, X.sup.11, X.sup.21, Y.sup.11, Y.sup.12, Sp.sup.11, Sp.sup.21, o and p have one of the meanings as given in claim 1. The invention further relates to method of production of a compound of formula I, to the use of said compounds in LC media and to LC media comprising one or more compounds of formula I. Further, the invention relates to a method of production of such LC media, to the use of such media in LC devices, and to LC device comprising a LC medium according to the present invention. The present invention further relates to a process for the fabrication such liquid crystal display and to the use of the liquid crystal mixtures according to the invention for the fabrication of such liquid crystal display.

To provide a polymerizable liquid crystal compound in order to produce a retardation film having excellent front contrast. A polymerizable liquid crystal composition including a compound represented by Formula (1). ##STR00001## In Formula (1), for example, W.sup.1 is an alkoxycarbonyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, an alkanoyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or a polymerizable functional group, A.sup.1 is independently 1,4-phenylene or naphthalene-2,6-diyl, Z.sup.1 is a linking group, m and n are independently an integer of 0 to 7, and satisfy 3m+n8, and P.sup.1 is a polymerizable functional group.

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

##STR00001##

in which
the parameter R.sup.1, A.sup.1, Z.sup.2, Sp, P, p1, p2, L1, L2, r1, r2 and R.sup.a have one of the meanings as given in claim 1 and to a compound of formula 1, as such. Furthermore, the present invention relates also to a method for the preparation of a polymerisable LC material, a polymer film 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.