Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.

Citizen Watch Company, Ltd.

Tomoyuki Yui

Masahiro Johno

Hiroshi Mineta

Takahiro Matsumoto

Yuki Motoyama

Takakiyo Mine

Yoshihisa Arai

Teruyo Tomiyama

Maki Ito

Masamichi Mizukami

Junichiro Sugano

Yoshihiro Gocho

Yasue Yoshioka

Tsuneo Fujimoto

Toshio Watanabe

Masahiro Jono

Minoru Kubota

Yoshitugu Minamikawa

Akira Ito

Tomiya Isshiki

Eiichi Yonemitsu

Shizuo Togo

Yasushi Suzuki

Mitsuo Abe

Hideo Uno

Seiji Adachi

Kenichiro Hashimoto

Akira Suguro

Yukio Ouchi

Akihiko Sanada

Shuichi Kobayashi

Liquid crystal composition

A fluorine-substituted compound of the following general formula (1) or (2), and a ferrielectric liquid crystal composition comprising the above compound and a specific ferrielectric liquid crystal compound,

Fluorine-substituted compounds and ferrielectric liquid-crystal composition containing the same

Optically active secondary alcohol and process for the production thereof

An anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition containing a phenyl triester compound of the formula (1),

Phenyl triester compound and anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition containing the same

A novel ferrielectric liquid crystal compound of the formula (1),

Ferrielectric liquid crystal compound

The present invention provides a ferrielectric liquid crystal compound represented by the following general formula (1),

Anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal cell

A novel anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds of the formula (1), ##STR1## wherein R is a linear alkyl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, X is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom, m is an integer of 1 to 3, n is an integer of 1 or 2, and C* is an asymmetric carbon atom. The above anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds have an anti-ferroelectric phase in a broad temperature range, so that they can be advantageously used as a main component for a liquid crystal material for practical use or as a component for a liquid crystal composition.

Anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compound

A ferrielectric liquid crystal compound of the general formula (1), ##STR1## wherein R is a linear alkyl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, either each of X and Y is a hydrogen atom or one of X and Y is a hydrogen atom and the other is a fluorine atom, m is an integer of 1 to 2, n is 1 and C* is an asymmetric carbon. The above liquid crystal compound shows a ferrielectric phase in a wide temperature range and exhibits a fast response in spite of its small spontaneous polarization, and it is therefore remarkably useful for an active-matrix liquid crystal display device.

A process for the production of R-configuration or S-configuration optically active alcohol having the formula (1),

Process for the production of an optically active alcohol and a novel

A process for purifying an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal or a ferrielectric liquid crystal, which comprises the following steps 1 to 4,

Method for purifying liquid crystal

A two-rings-containing phenyl ester compound of the following general formula (1), ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is a linear alkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms, R.sup.2 is a linear alkyl group having 1 to 15 carbon atoms, X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 are both hydrogen atoms or one of X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 is a fluorine atom and the other is a hydrogen atom, Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 are both hydrogen atoms or one of Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 is a fluorine atom and the other is a hydrogen atom, and A.sup.1 is a hydrogen atom, --CH.sub.3 or --CF.sub.3, provided that when A.sup.1 is a hydrogen atom or --CH.sub.3, p is 0 and that when A.sup.1 is --CF.sub.3, p is 1 and q is an integer of 5 to 8, and an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition containing at least one of two-rings-containing phenyl ester compounds of the above general formula (1) in claim 1 and either an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compound or a mixture of anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds.

Two-rings-containing phenyl ester compound and anti-perroelectric liquid

Provided are an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition consisting essentially of (a) a swallow-tailed compound of the formula (1), (b) an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compound of the formula (2), and (c) a phenyl ester compound of the formula (3), and a liquid crystal display device using the composition, ##STR1## The above anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition has an anti-ferroelectric phase in a broad temperature range, has a high response time I in the transition from an anti-ferroelectric state to a ferroelectric state and a proper response time II in the transition from a ferroelectric state to an anti-ferroelectric state, and can therefore provide an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal display device having high display quality.

Anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition

A liquid crystal compound represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R is a linear alkyl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, X and Y are both a hydrogen atom, or one of them is a hydrogen atom and the other is a fluorine atom, m is an integer of 0 to 5, n is an integer of 1 to 5, and C* is an asymmetric carbon atom. Since the liquid crystal compounds of the present invention have an anti-ferroelectric phase or a ferrielectric phase and the anti-ferroelectric phase or a ferrielectric phase has a highly practical phase sequence and wide temperature range, they are of great industrial value.

Liquid crystal compound

A racemic compound of the formula (1) ##STR1## and an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal composition consisting essentially of said racemic compound and one anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compound of the formula (2) or a mixture of two or more compounds selected from anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds of the formula (2), ##STR2## said composition having excellent steepness of threshold, having an anti-ferroelectric phase over a broad temperature range and having the performance of a high response speed and a high contrast.

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Tsukuba, Japan

Tomoyuki Yui