Provided are a liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal cured layer, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device, each of which suppresses streak defects and has excellent temporal stability. The liquid crystal composition includes a liquid crystal compound and a basic compound, in which a pKa of a conjugate acid of the basic compound is 4 to 10.

A problem of the present invention is to provide a polymerizable compound and a polymerizable composition which cause little decrease in retardation and discoloration when a film-shaped polymer produced by polymerization is irradiated with ultraviolet/visible light for a long time at high temperature. A further problem is to provide a polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable composition and an optically anisotropic body using the polymer. As a result, a compound useful as a component of a polymerizable composition was obtained. An optically anisotropic body using a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing the compound of the present invention is useful for application to an optical film and the like.

A liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable liquid crystal compound (A) having 5 or more ring structures in its main chain and a polymer (B) of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound (A) having 5 or more ring structures in its main chain, which inhibits occurrence of an orientation defect of a liquid crystal compound and exhibits excellent storage stability when dissolved in a solvent is provided.

The present invention is to provide an optical film having optically anisotropic layer having excellent durability, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the same. An optical film of the present invention is an optical film having at least an optically anisotropic layer, in which the optically anisotropic layer is a layer obtained by polymerizing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a predetermined liquid crystal compound and a polymerization initiator, and an extrapolated glass transition starting temperature of the optically anisotropic layer is 70° C. or higher.

A polymerizable liquid crystal composition capable of manufacturing an optically anisotropic film having excellent light fastness; and an optically anisotropic film, an optical film, a polarizing plate, an image display device, and an organic electroluminescent display device, each of which uses the polymerizable liquid crystal composition. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition of an embodiment of the present invention contains a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having reverse-wavelength dispersion properties and an ultraviolet absorber represented by Formula (1), in which a maximum absorption wavelength A of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound and a maximum absorption wavelength B of the ultraviolet absorber satisfy Formula (2), and a content of the ultraviolet absorber is 1% to 20% by mass with respect to a content of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound. ##STR00001##

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 polymer compound with which a molded product having a low dielectric loss tangent can be obtained, a composition, and a molded product. The polymer compound of the present invention is a polymer compound exhibiting liquid crystallinity, having a repeating unit including, in the following order, a rigid part consisting of a combination of an aromatic part having a 6-membered ring and an aromatic part having a 5-membered ring, a linker part selected from Group 1, a flexible part consisting of an alkylene group having 2 or more carbon atoms, and a linker part selected from Group 1.

Group 1: a single bond or a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of —O—, —S—, —CO—, —SO.sub.2—, —NR—, —CH≡CH—, and a combination of these groups, where R represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group

The invention relates to novel anisotropic compounds of formula

##STR00001## as well as to liquid crystalline mixtures, films and electro-optical devices comprising the compound.

A polymer having excellent liquid crystal alignment and electrical properties and thus is suitable for use as a liquid crystal alignment agent, a liquid crystal alignment agent including the same, a liquid crystal alignment film formed from the liquid crystal alignment agent, and a liquid crystal display device including the liquid crystal alignment film are provided.

An optically anisotropic layer is formed by a liquid crystal compound represented by General Formula 1, in which the long axes of the molecules are oriented. ##STR00001##
wherein L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 independently represent a linking group having a carbonyl group; F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a halogen atom; n and m independently represent an integer from 0 to 4; a and b independently represent an integer from 1 to 4; T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 independently represent a spacer portion including a straight chain or branched alkylene or alkylene oxide group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms; and Ar represents a divalent group having at least one aromatic ring selected from a group consisting of aromatic hydrocarbon rings and aromatic heterocycles, the number of Π electrons in the Ar group being 8 or greater.