Organic ligands and methods for preparing a variety of organic ligands are provided. The subject methods provide for the preparation of organic ligands in high yield and purity for use as ligands for attachment to nanoparticles to enable the formation of three dimensional nanocapsules of stably associated organic ligand-functionalized nanoparticles. Compositions that include these nanocapsules, as well as methods of making the nanocapsules are also provided.

The present invention relates to an LC medium comprising two or more polymerizable compounds, at least one of which contains a substituent comprising a tertiary OH group, to its use for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in LC displays, especially in LC displays of the PSA (polymer sustained alignment) or SA (self-aligning) mode, to an LC display of the PSA or SA mode comprising the LC medium, and to a process of manufacturing the LC display using the LC medium, especially an energy-saving LC display and energy-saving LC display production process.

A liquid crystal element including: two substrates having a transparent conductive layer formed thereon, the substrates being arranged so that the transparent conductive layers face each other, and a liquid crystal-polymer composite film sandwiched between the two substrates having a transparent conductive layer, wherein the liquid crystal-polymer composite film includes a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal composition surrounded by the polymer matrix, the liquid crystal composition contains a liquid crystal component and a dichroic dye, the liquid crystal component has positive dielectric constant anisotropy, and has an NI point of 110° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower, the liquid crystal component has a refractive index anisotropy of 0.01 or more and 0.1 or less, and the liquid crystal-polymer composite film can be switched between a transparent state and a colored state by applying a voltage.

Organic ligands and methods for preparing a variety of organic ligands are provided. The subject methods provide for the preparation of organic ligands in high yield and purity for use as ligands for attachment to nanoparticles to enable the formation of three dimensional nanocapsules of stably associated organic ligand-functionalized nanoparticles. Compositions that include these nanocapsules, as well as methods of making the nanocapsules are also provided.

A liquid crystal composition includes a nematic liquid crystal, and a compound of Formula (I) where R is an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or heteroaryl having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein the compound accounts for 0.3 to 0.6% of the liquid crystal composition. ##STR00001## Further, a sensing device includes a substrate, a frame, an alignment film, the liquid crystal composition as described above, and two polarizers. The frame is connected to the substrate and forms an accommodation space having an opening, and the alignment film and the liquid crystal composition are both located inside the accommodation space. One of the polarizers is arranged in correspondence with the opening such that a channel exists between the polarizer and the frame, the other polarizer is located at a lateral side of the substrate, and the polarization directions of the two polarizers intersect with each other.

Photopolymerizable materials and in particular holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal materials and processes for fabricating holographic waveguide devices from such materials are provided. Materials and formulations of photopolymerizable materials incorporate a mixture of LCs and monomer (and other components including: photoinitiator dye, coinitiators, surfactant), which under holographic exposure undergo phase separation to provide a grating in which at least one of the LCs and at least one of the monomers forms a first HPDLC morphology that provides a P polarization response and at least one of the LCs and at least one of the monomers forms a second HPDLC morphology that provides a S polarization response.

The present invention relates to a compound of formula GF

##STR00001##

in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings defined in claim 1, to a liquid crystal medium comprising a compound of formula GF and to high-frequency components comprising these media, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, tunable filters, tunable metamaterial structures, and electronic beam steering antennas, e.g. phased array antennas.

The present invention provides a novel non-lamellar liquid crystal-forming composition. An aspect of the present invention is a non-lamellar liquid crystal-forming composition comprising a fatty acid ester and a phospholipid. The fatty acid ester has a hydrophilic group having one hydroxyl group or a salt thereof, and the fatty acid ester is a fatty acid ester having none of the structures represented by General Formulas (A) to (D) (where m is independently 1 or 2; a, b, c, and d are each independently a binding site to a hydrophilic group; n is 0, 1 or 2; and the wavy lines each independently mean an E-isomer or a Z-isomer).

##STR00001##

The present invention relates to liquid-crystalline media (LC media) comprising a low-molecular-weight component, a self-alignment additive comprising a thiol group and optionally a polymerizable component. The self-alignment additives effect homeotropic (vertical) alignment of the LC media at a surface or the cell walls of a liquid-crystal display (LC display). The invention therefore also encompasses LC displays having homeotropic alignment of the liquid-crystalline medium (LC medium) without alignment layers. The invention discloses novel structures for self-alignment additives which have a thiol functional groups.

A liquid crystal composition includes a nematic liquid crystal, and a compound of Formula (I) where R is an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or heteroaryl having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein the compound accounts for 0.3 to 0.6% of the liquid crystal composition.

##STR00001##

Further, a sensing device includes a substrate, a frame, an alignment film, the liquid crystal composition as described above, and two polarizers. The frame is connected to the substrate and forms an accommodation space having an opening, and the alignment film and the liquid crystal composition are both located inside the accommodation space. One of the polarizers is arranged in correspondence with the opening such that a channel exists between the polarizer and the frame, the other polarizer is located at a lateral side of the substrate, and the polarization directions of the two polarizers intersect with each other.