A polymerizable compound-containing liquid crystal composition of the present invention relates to a liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable compound represented by general formula (I) and a compound represented by general formula (II) and can be used for a liquid crystal display device imparted with liquid crystal aligning ability by polymerization. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition is required to cause no precipitation in a wide temperature range and have a low viscosity corresponding to fast switching, and a liquid crystal display device using the composition is required to have more stable alignment after polymerization and to cause no defect in display characteristics. In the present invention, the problems can be solved using a specified compound.

Compounds of the formula I, and liquid-crystalline media, preferably having a nematic phase and negative dielectric anisotropy, comprising a) one or more compounds of the formula I ##STR00001## and one or more compounds selected from b) one or more compounds of formula II ##STR00002## and/or c) one or more compounds selected from compounds of formulae III-1 to III-4 and formula B ##STR00003## Methods for making and using these liquid-crystalline media in electro-optical displays, particularly in active-matrix displays based on the VA, ECB, PALC, FFS or IPS effect and the displays which contain these media. Methods for stabilizing liquid-crystalline media with compounds of formula I, where the liquid-crystalline media comprise one or more compounds of the formula II and one or more compounds selected from compounds of the formulae III-1 to III-4 and formula B.

Compounds of formula I, and liquid-crystalline media, preferably having a nematic phase and negative dielectric anisotropy, comprising: a) one or more compounds of formula I ##STR00001## and one or more other compounds selected from: b) one or more compounds of formula II ##STR00002## and/or c) one or more compounds selected from compounds of formulae III-1 to III-4 and B ##STR00003## Use thereof in electro-optical displays, particularly in active-matrix displays based on the VA, ECB, PALC, FFS or IPS effect and use of compounds of formula I for stabilisation of liquid-crystalline media which comprise one or more compounds of formula II and/or one or more compounds selected from compounds of formulae III-1 to III-4 and B.

A liquid crystal cell includes a pair of facing substrates having a photo-alignment film, and a liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal material contains a liquid crystal compound having a structure represented by any of the following chemical formula (1-1) and chemical formula (1-2):
A.sub.1-C.sub.nF.sub.2nX.sub.1-A.sub.2(1-1)
A.sub.1-X.sub.1C.sub.nF.sub.2n+1(1-2)
in the chemical formula (1-1), A.sub.1 is a phenyl group, a phenylene group, a naphthyl group, a naphthylene group, a cyclohexyl group, or a cyclohexylene group; A.sub.2 is a phenyl group, a phenylene group, a naphthyl group, or a naphthylene group (provided that a hydrogen atom in functional groups A.sub.1 and A.sub.2 is optionally substituted by a fluoro group, a chloro group, a bromo group, a methyl group, or an ethyl group); X.sub.1 is an oxygen atom or a direct bond; and n is an integer of 1 to 6. The photo-alignment film is obtained by subjecting a polymer film to a photo-alignment treatment.

A device using a liquid crystal medium exhibiting an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase, particularly, a blue phase liquid crystal medium for polarized light control application, in which reduction of an effective dielectric constant in a high frequency region is suppressed. A liquid crystal composition contains achiral component T, and has a liquid crystal phase optically exhibiting isotropy, in which achiral component T contains at least one compound selected from the group of compounds represented by formula (1) as a first component, at least one compound selected from the group of compounds represented by formula (2) and formula (3) as a second component, and is used for optical switching for controlling retardation by electric field-induced birefringence.

The purpose of the invention is to control, by using a colorless alignment control monomer, the alignment of liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal display element that does not include an alignment film, and to provide a liquid crystal composition with which the colorless alignment control monomer exhibits excellent compatibility. The invention uses a liquid crystal display element that comprises an alignment control monomer including an aromatic ester that undergoes photo-Fries rearrangement by light irradiation, and that employs a liquid crystal composition having a positive dielectric anisotropy. The invention also uses the liquid crystal composition.

Provided are a liquid crystal composition satisfying at least one of characteristics such as high maximum temperature, low minimum temperature, small viscosity, suitable optical anisotropy, large dielectric anisotropy and a short helical pitch, or the liquid crystal composition having a suitable balance regarding at least two of the characteristics; and an AM device including the composition. The liquid crystal composition contains a specific optically active compound as an additive, and a specific compound having high maximum temperature or small viscosity as a first component, and may contain a specific compound having positive dielectric anisotropy as a second component, or a specific compound having negative dielectric anisotropy as a third component.

The present invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium based on a mixture of polar compounds having negative dielectric anisotropy (), which is distinguished by the fact that it has a value for the ratio .sub.1/n.sup.2 in the range 6-45 with a clearing point of >60 C. and a of 2.3. Media of this type are particularly suitable for electro-optical displays having active-matrix addressing based on the ECB, PA LCD, FFS or IPS effect.

The present invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium based on a mixture of polar compounds having negative dielectric anisotropy (), which is distinguished by the fact that it has a value for the ratio .sub.1/n.sup.2 in the range 6-45 with a clearing point of >60 C. and a of 2.3. Media of this type are particularly suitable for electro-optical displays having active-matrix addressing based on the ECB, PA LCD, FFS or IPS effect.

A method for producing a liquid crystal cured film including a liquid crystal cured layer formed of a cured product of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound capable of expressing a birefringence with reverse wavelength distribution and a polymerization initiator, the method including: a step of forming a layer of the liquid crystal composition; a step of giving orientation to the liquid crystal compound contained in the layer of the liquid crystal composition; and a step of curing the layer of the liquid crystal composition, wherein a residue content viscosity of a test composition is 800 cP or less under a condition of a temperature that is the same as a temperature of the layer in the step of giving orientation to the liquid crystal compound, the test composition being the liquid crystal composition from which the polymerization initiator is omitted.