The present invention relates to an assembly of switching layers for dimming and scattering of light and to window elements comprising the arrangement of switching layers.

Provided is a liquid crystal display device comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal composition disposed between said first substrate and said second substrate, wherein a surface of said first substrate in contact with said liquid crystal composition is provided with an alignment layer, while said second substrate has no alignment layer; and said liquid crystal composition comprises a liquid crystal compound, a self-aligning agent, and a polymerizable compound represented by Formula I, ##STR00001##

The present invention relates to benzotriazole derivatives selected from the group of compounds of formulae Ia, Ib and Ic as defined in claim 1, to mesogenic media comprising the compounds of formulae Ia, Ib and Ic, and to the use of these compounds and mesogenic media in optical, electronic and electro-optical applications, in particular in devices for regulating the passage of energy from an outside space into an inside space, for example in windows.

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display device of the present invention comprises a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal composition disposed between said first substrate and said second substrate, wherein said first substrate and said second substrate are disposed in parallel and opposite to each other, with the distance between said first substrate and said second substrate being 2.5 μm to 3.2 μm; alignment layers are disposed on the sides of said first and second substrates that are close to said liquid crystal composition; and said alignment layers are provided with vertical alignment films that allow liquid crystal molecules in said liquid crystal composition to be arranged roughly perpendicular to said first or second substrate.

The present invention relates to liquid-crystalline media comprising one or more mesogenic compounds, one or more chiral compounds, and one or more polymerisable mesogenic compounds, wherein the media exhibit a pitch of 0.55 μm or more and a clearing point of 80° C. or more and wherein the one or more polymerisable mesogenic compounds are contained in an amount, based on the overall contents of the media, of 5% by weight or less. The present invention further relates to modulation materials obtainable from the media and to switching layers and window elements containing the materials.

Provided are an alignment aid that sufficiently exerts an alignment control force causing liquid crystal molecules to be vertically aligned and can reduce a change in pretilt angle over time, a liquid crystal composition containing the alignment aid, and a liquid crystal display device. The alignment aid of the present invention has the function of causing the liquid crystal molecules to be aligned spontaneously. In the light absorption spectrum of the alignment aid, the longest wavelength at which the absorbance is 0.5 is 330 nm or shorter. Preferably, the light absorption spectrum is measured on a solution prepared by dissolving the alignment aid in tetrahydrofuran at a concentration of 1000 ppm.

A liquid crystal composition includes at least one compound of general Formula I, at least one compound of general Formula II and at least one compound of general Formula M. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition provides a higher VHR (especially an excellent VHR after UV irradiation), a lower surface roughness of the polymer layer, a faster polymerization rate, a lower residual amount of the polymerizable compound and a better pretilt angle stability, which enables the production of a liquid crystal display device with a better voltage stability and a faster response speed, and can effectively reduce or prevent the occurrences of problems such as “burn-in”, “image sticking”, “Zara Particle” and “uneven display” in the liquid crystal display device. A liquid crystal display includes the liquid crystal composition.

##STR00001##

The present invention relates to liquid-crystalline media comprising one or more mesogenic compounds of formula I as set forth hereinafter, wherein the one or more compounds of formula I are contained in the medium in an amount, based on the overall contents of the medium, of at least 15% by weight. The present invention further relates to a switching layer, a switching element and a window element containing the liquid-crystalline medium.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal composition formed by combining a polymerizable compound represented by formula I with a specific liquid crystal component, particularly a PSVA liquid crystal composition for displays or TV applications and a PSA-IPS liquid crystal composition for an IPS mode, and a liquid crystal display element or liquid crystal display comprising this liquid crystal composition; in particular, the polymerizable compound has a faster polymerization rate, and a “material system” formed from the selected polymerizable component and liquid crystal component should have the lowest rotary viscosity and the best photoelectric properties, and has a high VHR after (UV) photoradiation, this avoiding the problem of the occurrence of residual images to final displays. ##STR00001##

Disclosed is a liquid crystal composition comprising one or more compounds represented by formula I, one or more compounds represented by formula II, and one or more compounds represented by formula III: ##STR00001##
The liquid crystal composition has simultaneously a lower rotary viscosity, a better photoelectric performance, a higher clearing point, a good low temperature performance, and less display defects. Further disclosed is a liquid crystal display element or device comprising the liquid crystal composition.