In light of requests to reduce or reverse the wavelength dispersion of the birefringence of a phase-retardation film in order to increase the viewing angle of a liquid crystal display, 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. Another object of the present invention is to provide a polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable composition and an optically anisotropic body including the polymer.

A photoreactive liquid crystal composition containing (A) a photoreactive polymer liquid crystal which includes a photoreactive side chain in which at least one type of reaction selected from (A-1) photocrosslinking and (A-2) photoisomerization occurs, and (B) a low molecular weight liquid crystal. An optical element or display element is formed having a liquid crystal cell including the photoreactive liquid crystal composition.

Liquid crystal mixtures containing a photoalignment component A) containing a photoreactive mesogen of formula I,

##STR00001## a liquid-crystalline component B) containing one or more nematogenic compounds, and a polymerizable component C) containing one or more polymerizable compounds of formula P,

P.sup.a-Sp.sup.a-(A.sup.p).sub.n2-Sp.sup.b-P.sup.b  P and a method of producing such LC media, the use of such media in LC devices, and LC devices containing such a LC medium, and further a process for the fabrication of such liquid crystal displays and the use of the liquid crystal mixtures for the fabrication of such liquid crystal display.

The invention relates to liquid crystal mixtures comprising a photoalignment component A) comprising one or more photoreactive mesogens 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, a liquid-crystalline component B), comprising one or more nematogenic compounds, and a polymerizable component C) comprising one or more polymerizable compounds of formula P,

P.sup.a-Sp.sup.a-P.sup.b  P wherein P.sup.a, P.sup.b and Sp.sup.a have one of the meanings as given in claim 1. Further, the invention relates to a method of production of such LC media, to the use of such media in LC devices, and to a 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.

The invention relates to bimesogenic compounds of formula I

##STR00001##

to the use of bimesogenic compounds of formula I in liquid crystal media and particular to flexoelectric liquid crystal devices comprising a liquid crystal medium according to the present invention.

The invention relates to bimesogenic compounds of formula I

##STR00001##

wherein R.sup.11, R.sup.12, MG.sup.11, MG.sup.12 and CG.sup.1 have the meaning given in claim 1, to the use of bimesogenic compounds of formula I in liquid crystal media and particular to flexoelectric liquid crystal devices comprising a liquid crystal medium according to the present invention.

The present invention provides a polymerizable liquid crystal composition including a specific polymerizable compound and a fluorosurfactant having specific polyoxyalkylene skeleton and molecular weight. Also, an optically anisotropic body, a phase difference film, an antireflection film, and a liquid crystal display device, which are produced by using the polymerizable liquid crystal composition according to the present invention, are provided. The present invention is useful because three properties, that is, leveling properties of the surface of an optically anisotropic body, offset to a base material, and alignment properties of a liquid crystal can be improved at the same time in the case where the optically anisotropic body is produced by photopolymerizing the polymerizable liquid crystal composition.

The invention relates to bimesogenic compounds of formula I

##STR00001##

wherein R.sup.11, R.sup.12, MG.sup.11, MG.sup.12 and CG.sup.1 have the meaning given in claim 1, to the use of bimesogenic compounds of formula I in liquid crystal media and particular to flexoelectric liquid crystal devices comprising a liquid crystal medium according to the present invention.

To provide a liquid crystal display device, whereby transparency when no voltage is applied and scattering properties when a voltage is applied, are good, adhesion between a liquid crystal layer and a vertical liquid crystal alignment film is high, and its lifespan is long even in a severe environment. The liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal layer formed by disposing a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal and a polymerizable compound between a pair of substrates provided with electrodes, and irradiating and curing the composition with ultraviolet rays by an ultraviolet irradiation apparatus, and at least one of the substrates is provided with a liquid crystal alignment film to vertically align a liquid crystal, wherein the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus is an ultraviolet irradiation apparatus capable of controlling the irradiation light intensity and wavelength of the ultraviolet rays to be irradiated and the surface temperature of the pair of the substrates, the liquid crystal composition contains a compound represented by the formula [1], and the liquid crystal alignment film is a liquid crystal alignment film obtained from a liquid crystal alignment treating agent containing a polymer having a side chain structure represented by the formula [2-1] or formula [2-2].

X.sup.1-X.sup.2-X.sup.3-X.sup.4-X.sup.5-X.sup.6X.sup.7.sub.pX.sup.8  [1]

(X.sup.1 is a specific side chain structure; X.sup.2, X.sup.3, X.sup.4 and X.sup.6 are each a single bond, etc.; X.sup.5 and X.sup.7 are each a benzene ring, etc.; p is an integer of from 0 to 4; and X.sup.8 is a C.sub.1-18 alkyl group, etc.),

—Y.sup.1-Y.sup.2-Y.sup.3-Y.sup.4Y.sup.5.sub.nY.sup.6  [2-1]

(Y.sup.1, Y.sup.2 and Y.sup.3 are each a single bond; Y.sup.4 and Y.sup.5 are each a benzene ring, etc.; n is from 0 to 4; and Y.sup.6 is a C.sub.1-18 alkyl group, etc.,

—Y.sup.7-Y.sup.8  [2-2]

(Y.sup.7 is a single bond; and Y.sup.8 is a C.sub.8-22 alkyl group, etc.).