Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Fujifilm Corporation

Atsuhiro Ohkawa

Keiji Mihayashi

Tatsuhiko Obayashi

Hideyuki Nishikawa

Junichi Yamanouchi

Masuji Motoki

Michitaka Matsuumi

Hideaki Naruse

Shigeki Uehira

Masaaki Tsukase

Tatsuya Igarashi

Seiji Ichijima

Hiroo Takizawa

Hisashi Mikoshiba

Toshio Kawagishi

Hiroki Sasaki

Yasuhiro Ishiwata

Ichiro Amimori

Takayoshi Kamio

Shun-ichi Ishikawa

Seiya Sakurai

Hiroshi Iwanaga

Yasuhiro Mitamura

Hisao Yamada

Takuya Yokokawa

Kensuke Morita

Ryo Hamasaki

Koichi Hanaki

Masuzi Motoki

A new liquid crystal compound comprises two condensed and substituted rings. The ring preferably is a five-membered heterocyclic ring. The heterocyclic ring is preferably condensed with benzene ring or an aromatic six-membered heterocyclic ring. The benzene ring or the aromatic six-membered heterocyclic ring is preferably substituted with a group comprising a cyclic structure and a chain structure. The liquid crystal compound is advantageously used in preparation of a thin phase retarder, such as a wide-ranged &#x3bb;/4 plate, which gives inverse wavelength distribution. The phase retarder can be easily produced according to a simple process by using the new liquid crystal compound.

Liquid crystal compound comprising two condensed and substituted rings

To provide a liquid crystalline composition, which can be obtained by mixing a plurality of liquid crystalline compositions each of which can exhibit different liquid crystal phases from one another, being capable of exhibiting a biaxial liquid crystal phase, a liquid crystalline composition contains a liquid crystalline composition R which exhibits a liquid crystal phase having a positive birefringence; and a liquid crystalline composition D which exhibits a liquid crystal phase having a negative birefringence, in which the liquid crystalline composition R comprises a compound having a rectangular plate-like shape.

Liquid crystalline compound, liquid crystalline composition and retardation film

An optically anisotropic element comprises a discotic compound. The discotic compound has an oriented discotic plane. The discotic compound has a molecular structure including a discotic core and 3 to 20 combinations of ester bonds (&#x2014;O&#x2014;CO&#x2014;) and 1- or 2-alkenyl groups. The alkenyl group can have a polymerizable group as a substituent group positioned at the terminal. A polymerizable discotic compound having an oriented discotic plane can be polymerized to form an optically anisotropic element. Alignment of the oriented discotic plane is fixed by polymerization. A new triphenylene compound is also disclosed.

Optically anisotropic element comprising discotic compound

An optically anisotropic element comprises a discotic compound. The discotic compound has an oriented discotic plane. The discotic compound has a molecular structure represented by the formula (I) of D(&#x2014;O&#x2014;CO&#x2014;CR&#x2550;CR&#x2014;X&#x2014;R). In the formula (I), D is a discotic core, n is an integer of 3 to 20, each of Rand Ris hydrogen, a halogen atom or an alkyl group, X is &#x2014;O&#x2014;, &#x2014;S&#x2014; or &#x2014;NR&#x2014;, and Ris an alkyl group or an aryl group. A polymerizable discotic compound having an oriented discotic plane can be polymerized to form an optically anisotropic element. Alignment of the oriented discotic plane is fixed by polymerization. A new discotic compound is also disclosed.

A biaxial liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound and a refractive index-controlling agent, which is capable of developing a biaxial liquid crystal phase, and has a value of (nx&#x2212;ny)/(ny&#x2212;nz) and a value of (nx0&#x2212;ny0)/(ny0&#x2212;nz0) different from each other wherein nx, ny and nz respectively represent refractive indexes along directions of three axes of the biaxial liquid crystal composition in an order of magnitude, and nx0, ny0 and nz0 respectively represent refractive indexes along directions of three axes of the biaxial composition obtained by excluding the refractive index-controlling agent from the biaxial liquid crystal composition in an order of magnitude.

Liquid crystal composition, polymerization product, retardation plate and ellipsoidally polarizing plate

To provide a retardation film (optical compensation sheet) using a liquid crystal compound excellent in both the wavelength dispersion property and the refractive index anisotropy, disclosed is a retardation film having an optically anisotropic layer formed of a compound represented by formula (I): [(R)a&#x2014;M&#x2014;(L)]b&#x2014;(L), wherein Rrepresents an alkyl group, at least one &#x2014;CH&#x2014; group in the alkyl group may be substituted by &#x2014;O&#x2014;, &#x2014;S&#x2014;, &#x2014;C(&#x2550;O)&#x2014;, &#x2014;N(R)&#x2014;, &#x2014;CH&#x2550;CH&#x2014; or &#x2014;C&#x2261;C&#x2014;, Rrepresents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, M represents a group comprising three or more aromatic rings, Lrepresents a single bond or a divalent alkylene group, the &#x2014;CH&#x2014; group in the alkylene group may be substituted by &#x2014;O&#x2014;, &#x2014;S&#x2014;, &#x2014;C(&#x2550;O)&#x2014; or &#x2014;N(R)&#x2014;, Lrepresents a b-valent cyclic, alkene or alkyne group, a represents the number of Rs substituted to M, and b represents an integer of 2 to 6.

Retardation film and compound

To provide a liquid crystalline compound capable of exhibiting a biaxial liquid crystal phase, provide a trifunctional or greater functional polymerizable liquid crystalline compound having polymerizable groups, and also to provide a liquid crystalline composition and a retardation film which are using the liquid crystalline compound, a compound and a liquid crystalline compound each are represented by formula (I) defined in the specification; a liquid crystalline composition contains the compound; and a retardation film has an optically anisotropic layer formed from the compound.

A retardation plate having a high film strength and having an optical property is provided by using a biaxial liquid crystal compound, in which the direction having a minimum refractive index of the optically anisotropic thin layer almost coincides with the normal direction in the film plane of the retardation plate, and the retardation plate comprises a transparent support and at least one optically anisotropic layer containing a liquid crystal compound capable of expressing a biaxial liquid crystal phase, wherein the liquid crystal compound is a polymerizable compound and/or a polymer compound.

Compound, retardation plate and method for forming optically anisotropic layer

An optical film comprises a transparent support and a polarizing layer. The polarizing layer selectively transmits polarized light, and selectively reflects or scatters other polarized light. The polarizing layer contains a compound represented by the formula (I) of Ar&#x2014;C&#x2261;C&#x2014;Ar&#x2014;C&#x2261;C&#x2014;Ar. In the formula (I), each of Arand Arindependently is a monovalent aromatic group, and Aris a divalent aromatic group.

Optical film comprising support and polarizing layer

An image-forming material is described, comprising on an support an acid-generating agent selected from a sulfonic acid ester of a specific structure generating an acid by the action of heat and the polymer thereof, and a compound causing a light absorption change in the absorption region of from 350 to 700 nm by an intramolecular or intermolecular reaction by the action of an acid. The image-forming material has a high sensitivity and excellent storage stability and gives low haze and good images in the case of performing image formation using a high-output laser light. A sulfonic acid ester derivative represented by the formula, &lsqb;R SO CH(R )&rsqb;R (wherein R represents an alkyl group, an aryl group or a heterocyclic group, R and R each independently represents an alkyl group or an aryl group, excluding that R and R are simultaneously aryl groups, R and R may combine to form a ring, and at least one of R and R has a polymerizing unsaturated group), and a polymer synthesized by the monomer containing it, are also described.

Image-forming material and novel sulfonic acid ester derivative

Image-recording medium containing self-developing leuco dye

Disclosed are an image forming method including forming images in an image-forming material by means of a thermal printer head, wherein the image-forming material including a compound capable of releasing a strong acid under the action of heat and a compound capable of forming a dye by the reaction with an acid, and an image-forming material suitable for printing with a thermal head.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Atsuhiro Ohkawa