Polymerizable liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display device thereof
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a polymerizable liquid crystalline composition and a PS (polymer stabilized) type display containing this type of liquid crystalline composition.
Background
Liquid crystal displays (also referred to as LC displays, simply "displays" or "LCDs") in use today are typically those of the TN (twisted nematic) type. However, these have the disadvantage of a strong viewing angle dependence of the contrast.
In addition, so-called VA (vertical alignment) displays are known, which have a wider viewing angle. The liquid-crystal cells of VA displays contain a layer of a liquid-crystalline medium between two transparent electrodes, wherein the liquid-crystalline medium usually has a negative Dielectric (DC) anisotropy (Δ) value. In the off-state, the molecules of the liquid crystal layer are aligned perpendicular to the electrode surface (homeotropically) or have an inclined homeotropic alignment. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, a realignment of the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the electrode surface occurs.
In addition, OCB (optically compensated bend) displays are known which are based on birefringence effects and have a liquid crystal layer with a so-called "bend" alignment and a generally positive (DC) anisotropy. When a voltage is applied, a realignment of the liquid crystal molecules perpendicular to the electrode surface occurs. One or more birefringent optical retardation films are typically included to prevent the undesirable transparency to light of the curved cell in the dark state. OCB displays have a wider viewing angle and a shorter response time than TN displays.
In particular, IPS (in-plane switching) displays are known, which contain a liquid crystal layer between two substrates, only one of which has an electrode layer, usually with a comb-shaped structure. Whereby an electric field is generated having a significant component parallel to the liquid crystal layer when a voltage is applied. This results in a realignment of the liquid crystal molecules within the layer plane.
In addition, so-called FFS (fringe field switching) displays have been proposed (see in particular s.h. jung et al, jpn.j.appl.phys., volume 43, No.3,2004,1028), which likewise contain two electrodes on the same substrate, but in contrast to IPS displays, only one of them is in the form of a structured (comb-shaped) electrode and the other electrode is unstructured. This results in a strong so-called vertical component and a strong horizontal component. Both IPS displays and FFS displays have a low viewing angle dependence of the contrast.
Another development of the type of display mentioned above is the so-called "PS" ("polymer stabilised") display, which is also known under the term "PSA" ("polymer sustained alignment"). Wherein a small amount (e.g. 0.3%, typically in the range from ≥ 0.1% to ≤ 5%, preferably up to ≤ 3%) of a polymerizable compound is added to the liquid-crystalline medium and the liquid crystal is introduced and thereafter appliedIs polymerized or cross-linked in situ between the electrodes, typically by UV photopolymerization. These mixtures may also optionally contain initiators, such as described in US 6784665. Initiators, for example from Ciba, are preferably added to the mixture comprising the polymerizable compounds in amounts of 0-1%1076. The addition of polymerisable mesogenic or liquid-crystalline compounds, also referred to as "reactive mesogens" (RMs), to the liquid-crystal mixture has proven particularly suitable. Meanwhile, the PSA principle is being used for various conventional liquid crystal displays. PSA-VA, PSA-OCB, PSA-IPS/FFS and PS-TN displays are known, for example. As can be verified in the test cell, the PSA method results in a stabilization of the initial alignment of the liquid crystals in the cell. In PSA-OCB displays, it is thus possible to achieve a stabilization of the bending structure, so that the bias voltage is reduced or even dispensed with altogether. In the case of PSA-VA displays, the "pretilt angle" measured from perpendicular to the display surface decreases, which has a positive effect on the response time therein. In the case of PSA displays, the polymerization of reactive mesogens takes place deliberately in the liquid-crystal mixture. With the proviso that the liquid-crystal mixture itself does not contain any polymerizable components.
Furthermore, so-called positive VA displays have proven to be a particularly advantageous embodiment. In these displays, dielectrically positive liquid-crystalline media are used. The initial alignment of the liquid crystal in the voltage-free initial state is here homeotropic, i.e. substantially perpendicular to the substrates. A voltage is applied to the interdigital electrodes which generates a field substantially parallel to the liquid crystal medium layer, which results in a conversion of the liquid crystal to an alignment substantially parallel to the substrates. This type of interdigital electrodes is also commonly used in IPS displays. The corresponding Polymer Stabilization (PSA) also proved successful in these positive VA displays. A significant reduction in response time can also be achieved.
The optimized u.psa approach, which still requires response time and contrast and brightness (i.e. also projectability) of the liquid crystal display, can provide key advantages here, especially for monitor and especially TV applications, but also for mobile applications (mobile TV) and "notebook" TV (nbtv). In particular in the case of PSA-IPS, PSA-FFS and PSA-positive VA, a reduced response time can be achieved without significant adverse effects on other parameters, for example, in particular the favorable viewing angle dependence of the contrast of these displays.
Displays comprising liquid-crystal mixtures which have a positive dielectric anisotropy are disclosed, for example, in WO2009/156118a 1.
However, it has been found that the liquid crystal mixtures and RMs known from the prior art still have various drawbacks when used in PSA displays. Polymerization should preferably be carried out by means of UV light without the addition of photoinitiators, which may be advantageous for certain applications. Furthermore, the "material system" selected comprising the liquid-crystalline mixture (hereinafter also referred to as "liquid-crystalline host mixture" or also simply as "host mixture") and the polymerizable component should have the lowest possible rotational viscosity and the best possible electrical properties. The so-called "voltage holding ratio" (shortly VHR or HR) should be emphasized here. Especially for PSA displays, a high VHR after irradiation with UV light is of central importance, since UV exposure is usually an essential part of the display manufacturing process, but of course also occurs in the finished display as a "normal" exposure.
However, the problem arises that not all combinations of liquid-crystal mixtures and polymerizable components are suitable for PSA displays to date, since, for example, VHR is often not sufficient for TFT displays, or since the stabilization of the alignment of the liquid-crystal mixtures is unsatisfactory.
In particular, it would be desirable to have new materials available for PSA displays that have significantly fewer drawbacks for practical applications.
There thus continues to be a great need for PSA displays, in particular of the IPS and FFS type, and for liquid-crystalline media and polymerizable compounds for displays of this type, which do not exhibit the abovementioned disadvantages or exhibit them to only a small extent, and which have improved properties. In particular, there is a great need for PSA displays and materials for PSA displays which promote a high specific resistance while having a large operating temperature range, short response times (even at low temperatures), and low threshold voltages, a large number of grey scales, high contrast ratios and wide viewing angles, and also having high voltage holding ratios (in particular also after UV exposure), and in particular having improved response times.
For some displays in general and in particular in the case of PSA-IPS and PSA-FFS displays, novel liquid-crystalline media with improved properties are necessary. In particular, the addressing time must be improved for many application types. Therefore, liquid-crystalline media having a relatively low viscosity, in particular having a relatively low rotational viscosity, are necessary.
There is therefore a great need for liquid-crystalline media having properties suitable for practical use, such as a wide nematic phase range, a suitable optical anisotropy (Δ n) corresponding to the type of display used, a suitable high Δ and a low viscosity, in particular for particularly short response times.
Disclosure of Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid-crystalline composition which is provided with a liquid-crystalline medium having a suitable Δ n, a suitably high Δ and a nematic phase range, which does not have the disadvantages of the prior art materials, or at least only does so to a significantly reduced extent.
One aspect of the present invention relates to a liquid crystal composition comprising:
one or more compounds of formula I
One or more compounds of formula II
And
one or more compounds of the formula III
Wherein,
Rl、R2and R3The alkyl or alkoxy groups are the same or different and each independently represents H, an alkyl or alkoxy group having 1 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkenyl group having 2 to 7 carbon atoms;
P1and P2Are the same or different and each independently representsOr
SplAnd Sp2The same or different, each independently represents a spacer group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a single bond;
X1and X2The same or different, each independently represents-O-, -COO-, -OCO-O-, or a single bond;
and1, 4-phenylene which is the same or different and each independently represents a group in which one or more hydrogens on the ring may be replaced with fluorine or methyl;
to representOr
Z1Represents a single bond, -CH ═ CH-or-CH2CH2-;
LlRepresents H or F;
a and b are the same or different and each independently represents 0 or 1; and is
Wherein the compound of formula III or at least one of the compounds of formula III is a compound of formula III-1
Wherein,
R4represents an alkyl group having 1 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkenyl group having 2 to 7 carbon atoms;
L2represents H or F.
In an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the compound of formula I accounts for 0.01 to 5.0% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition; the compound of the general formula II accounts for 40-85% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition; and the compound of formula III accounts for 10-55% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition, and wherein the compound of formula III-1 accounts for 2-25% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition.
The liquid crystal composition of the present invention further comprises:
one or more compounds of the compounds corresponding to formula iv:
wherein,
R5represents an alkyl group having 1 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkenyl group having 2 to 7 carbon atoms;
andare the same or different and each independently representsOrWhereinWherein one or more hydrogens may be replaced with fluorine;
c represents 0 or 1.
In some embodiments of the present invention, it is particularly preferred that the compound of formula I comprises 0.05 to 1.0% by weight of the total liquid crystal composition; the compound of the general formula II accounts for 40-70% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition; the compound of formula III accounts for 15-40% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition; and the compound of formula IV accounts for 1-30% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition, and wherein the compound of formula III-1 accounts for 5-20% of the total weight of the liquid crystal composition.
In some embodiments of the invention, the compound of formula I is selected from one or more compounds of the group consisting of compounds I-1 through I-5:
and
in some embodiments of the invention, the compound of formula II is selected from one or more compounds of the group consisting of compounds II-1 through II-18:
and
in some embodiments of the present invention, the compound of formula iii is selected from one or more compounds from the group consisting of compounds iii-2 to iii-7:
and
in some embodiments of the invention, the compound of formula III-1 is selected from one or more compounds of the group consisting of compounds III-1-1 through III-1-3:
and
in some embodiments of the invention, the compound of formula IV is selected from one or more compounds of the group consisting of compounds IV-l to IV-l 1:
and
another aspect of the present invention relates to a liquid crystal display comprising:
two substrates; and
a liquid crystal alignment layer;
wherein, the two substrates are arranged in the display area, and no electrode exists on one substrate; the liquid crystal alignment layer comprises the liquid crystal composition.
The invention relates to liquid crystal displays, in particular PS displays, preferably PS-IPS or PS-FFS displays, particularly preferably PS-FFS displays, comprising the liquid crystal compositions according to the invention.
A further aspect of the invention relates to the use of a liquid crystal composition according to the invention in a liquid crystal display, in particular in a PS-type display containing a liquid crystal composition.
The liquid crystal medium comprising the liquid crystal composition is determined to have the characteristics of proper refractive index anisotropy, proper high dielectric anisotropy, proper nematic phase temperature range, rapid response speed and the like by performing combination experiments on the compounds and comparing with a control.
In the invention, unless otherwise specified, the proportions are weight ratios, all temperatures are centigrade, the FFS test box is selected for testing the response time data, the electrode width is 4 μm, the electrode spacing is 6 μm, and the box thickness is 4 μm.
Detailed Description
The invention will be illustrated below with reference to specific embodiments. It should be noted that the following examples are illustrative of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Other combinations and various modifications within the spirit or scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.
For convenience of expression, in the following examples, the group structure of the liquid crystal composition is represented by the code listed in Table 1:
TABLE 1 radical structural code of liquid crystal compounds
Compounds of the following formula are exemplified:
the structural formula is represented by the code listed in Table 1, and can be expressed as: nCCGF, wherein n in the code represents the number of C atoms of the left alkyl group, for example, n is 3, namely, the alkyl group is-C3H7(ii) a C in the code represents cyclohexane.
The abbreviated codes of the test items in the following examples are as follows:
cp (. degree. C.): clearing points (nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature)
Δ n: optical anisotropy (589 nm, 20 ℃ C.)
Δ: dielectric anisotropy (1 KHz, 25 ℃ C.)
γ 1: torsional viscosity (mPas at 20 ℃ C.)
τ off: time (ms) until cut at which transmittance 10% is reached
Wherein the refractive index anisotropy is measured by using an Abbe refractometer under a sodium lamp (589 nm) light source at 20 ℃; the dielectric test cell was of the type TN90, the cell thickness being 7 μm.
The components used in the following examples can be synthesized by a known method or obtained commercially. These synthesis techniques are conventional, and the resulting liquid crystal compounds were tested to meet the standards for electronic compounds.
Liquid crystal compositions were prepared according to the compounding ratios of the liquid crystal compositions specified in the following examples. The liquid crystal composition is prepared according to the conventional method in the field, such as heating, ultrasonic wave, suspension and the like, and is mixed according to the specified proportion.
Liquid crystal compositions given in the following examples were prepared and studied. The composition of each liquid crystal composition and the results of the performance parameter test thereof are shown below.
Comparative example 1
The liquid crystal composition LC-1 of comparative example 1, which was filled between two substrates of a liquid crystal display and subjected to a performance test with the compounds and weight percentages listed in table 2, was prepared, and the test data are shown in the following table:
TABLE 2 liquid crystal composition formulations and their test properties
To liquid crystal composition LC-1, 0.2% by weight of polymerizable compound I-1 shown below based on the total weight of the liquid crystal composition LC-1 was added and polymerization was carried out under 365nm UV light to form polymerizable liquid crystal composition M1, and the resultant mixture had τ off of 34.6 ms.
Example 1
The liquid crystal composition LC-2 of example 1, which was filled between two substrates of a liquid crystal display and subjected to a performance test with the compounds and weight percentages listed in table 3, was prepared, and the test data are shown in the following table:
TABLE 3 liquid crystal composition formula and its test performance
To liquid crystal composition LC-2, polymerizable compound I-1 shown below was added in a weight ratio of said polymerizable compound I-1 to said liquid crystal composition LC-2 of 0.2:100, and polymerization was carried out under 365nm UV light to form polymerizable liquid crystal composition M2, the resulting mixture having a τ off of 25.3 ms:
the polymerizable liquid crystal composition is suitable for a PS-FFS type liquid crystal display.
Example 2
The liquid crystal composition LC-3 of example 2, which was filled between two substrates of a liquid crystal display and subjected to a performance test with the compounds and weight percentages listed in table 4, was prepared, and the test data are shown in the following table:
TABLE 4 liquid crystal composition formula and its test performance
To liquid crystal composition LC-3, polymerizable compound I-1 shown below was added in a weight ratio of said polymerizable compound I-1 to said liquid crystal composition LC-3 of 0.4:100, and polymerization was carried out under 365nm UV light to form polymerizable liquid crystal composition M3, the resulting mixture having a τ off of 25.6 ms:
the polymerizable liquid crystal composition is suitable for a PS-FFS type liquid crystal display.
Example 3
The liquid crystal composition LC-4 of example 3, prepared with the compounds and weight percentages listed in table 5, was filled between two substrates of a liquid crystal display for performance testing, and the test data are shown in the following table:
TABLE 5 liquid crystal composition formulations and their test properties
To liquid crystal composition LC-4, polymerizable compound I-1 shown below was added in a weight ratio of said polymerizable compound I-1 to said liquid crystal composition LC-4 of 0.2:100, and polymerization was carried out under 365nm UV light to form polymerizable liquid crystal composition M4, and the resultant mixture had τ off of 24.8 ms:
the polymerizable liquid crystal composition is suitable for a PS-FFS type liquid crystal display.
Example 4
The liquid crystal composition LC-5 of example 4, which was filled between two substrates of a liquid crystal display and subjected to a performance test with the compounds and weight percentages listed in table 6, was prepared, and the test data are shown in the following table:
TABLE 6 liquid crystal composition formula and its test performance
To liquid crystal composition LC-5, polymerizable compound I-4 shown below was added in a weight ratio of said polymerizable compound I-4 to said liquid crystal composition LC-5 of 0.2:100, and polymerization was carried out under 365nm UV light to form polymerizable liquid crystal composition M5, the resulting mixture having a τ off of 25.3 ms:
the polymerizable liquid crystal composition is suitable for a PS-FFS type liquid crystal display.
As can be seen from the above test data of comparative example 1, example 2, example 3 and example 4, the liquid crystal composition of the present invention has suitable dielectric anisotropy, suitable refractive index anisotropy and smaller viscosity. Therefore, the display adopting the liquid crystal composition has higher response speed and can be suitable for PS displays, particularly PS-IPS and PS-FFS displays.