JP5401592B2 - Support film - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a support film that supports a polarizing film.

  A polarizing film is usually produced by stretching a film on which a dichroic substance is adsorbed. Due to the limitation of the structure of the stretching apparatus, the stretching direction is usually the longitudinal direction or the width direction of the film. When the film is stretched in the longitudinal direction, the absorption axis is in the longitudinal direction, and when it is stretched in the width direction, the absorption axis is in the width direction. In either case, the absorption axis is parallel or perpendicular to the width direction of the film, and the absorption axis cannot be inclined in the width direction. That the absorption axis is oblique in the width direction means that the absorption axis is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the width direction.

  However, the utilization rate of the polarizing film may be higher when the absorption axis is oblique in the width direction. Then, in order to obtain a polarizing film whose absorption axis is oblique in the width direction, a production method is known in which the film is obliquely stretched using a special tenter stretching device (for example, Patent Document 1).

  A polarizing film having an absorption axis that is oblique in the width direction obtained by such a manufacturing method has few discarded portions when punched and has a high utilization rate of the polarizing film. However, the conventional oblique stretching method is difficult to produce a thin (for example, 10 μm thick) polarizing film because the film is easily broken during stretching.

  On the other hand, as a method for producing a polarizing film different from the film stretching method, there is a method for producing a polarizing film by applying a liquid crystal compound to a support film in a thin film and orienting the liquid crystal compound.

  This manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIG. The plurality of lyotropic liquid crystal compounds 31 are stacked in a solution with the absorption axis 32 (molecular long axis) in parallel to form a column-like aggregate 33.

  The column-like aggregates 33 in the solution have the property of being aligned in parallel with the alignment treatment direction 36 of the support film 35 when applied in a thin film on the support film 35. Therefore, the alignment direction 37 of the columnar aggregate 33 is parallel to the alignment treatment direction 36. Since the orientation treatment direction 36 of the support film 35 is usually the longitudinal direction 38, the orientation direction 37 of the columnar aggregate 33 becomes the longitudinal direction 38 of the support film 35.

  At this time, since the absorption axis 32 (molecular long axis) of the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 31 is perpendicular to the alignment direction 37, it is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 38 of the support film 35. Therefore, the absorption shaft 32 is parallel to the width direction 39 of the support film 35.

  The polarizing film 40 is a thin film in which a large number of columnar aggregates 33 are aligned. The composite film 30 is a laminate including the support film 35 and the polarizing film 40.

  According to this manufacturing method, a thin polarizing film 40 (for example, having a thickness of 10 μm or less) can be easily obtained. However, the conventional manufacturing method cannot obtain the polarizing film 40 in which the absorption axis 32 is inclined in the width direction 39 of the support film 35.

JP 2004-144838 A

  According to the conventional oblique stretching method, it is possible to obtain a polarizing film whose absorption axis is oblique in the width direction of the film. However, since the film is easily broken during stretching, it is difficult to obtain a thin (for example, 10 μm thick) polarizing film.

  According to the conventional manufacturing method in which the liquid crystal compound 31 is applied to the support film 35 in a thin film shape, the liquid crystal compound 31 is oriented, and the thin film is made into the polarizing film 40, a thin polarizing film 40 (for example, having a thickness of 10 μm or less) is easy. Is obtained. However, the polarizing film 40 in which the absorption axis 32 is inclined in the width direction 39 of the support film 35 cannot be obtained.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a polarizing film whose absorption axis is oblique in the width direction and thin (for example, a thickness of 10 μm or less).

(1) This invention is a support film which supports the polarizing film containing a lyotropic liquid crystal compound on one main surface. The support film of the present invention is subjected to orientation treatment in two different directions in the main surface, overlapping the same region in the main surface.
(2) In the support film of the present invention, the angle formed by the orientation treatment in two directions is 30 ° to 150 °.
(3) In the support film of the present invention, one of the two directions is the longitudinal direction.
(4) In the support film of the present invention, the polarizing film has an absorption axis that is oblique in the width direction of the film.

  The present inventors have intensively studied to solve the above problems. The result will be described with reference to FIG. In the production method of the present invention, first, the surface of the support film 11 is subjected to orientation treatment in two different directions. These are defined as a first alignment treatment direction 12 and a second alignment treatment direction 13. Either the first alignment treatment direction 12 or the second alignment treatment direction 13 may be subjected to the alignment treatment first.

  Next, a solution containing the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is applied to the surface of the support film 11. The lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 forms columnar aggregates 15 in the solution. The columnar aggregate 15 is oriented in the vector sum direction (orientation direction 16) of the first orientation treatment direction 12 and the second orientation treatment direction 13. The absorption axis 17 of the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is perpendicular to the alignment direction 16 of the columnar aggregate 15.

  When this orientation property of the column-like aggregate 15 is utilized, a polarizing film 18 whose absorption axis 17 is inclined in the width direction 19 can be formed on the support film 11. The absorption shaft 17 is also inclined in the longitudinal direction 20.

  A large number of columnar aggregates 15 are formed into a thin film to form the polarizing film 18. The composite film 10 of the present invention is a laminate including a support film 11 and a polarizing film 18.

  In the production method of the present invention, first, the surface of the support film 11 is subjected to orientation treatment in two directions (first orientation treatment direction 12 and second orientation treatment direction 13). Next, a solution containing the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is applied to the surface of the support film 11. The columnar aggregate 15 of the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is aligned in the vector sum direction (alignment direction 16) of the first alignment treatment direction 12 and the second alignment treatment direction 13.

  In this way, the polarizing film 18 whose absorption axis 17 is inclined with respect to the width direction 19 can be formed on the support film 11.

  The polarizing film 18 can also be peeled off from the support film 11 and used. In that case, it can contribute to thickness reduction of various optical apparatuses as a polarizing film thinner than before.

Schematic diagram of the composite film of the present invention Schematic diagram of conventional composite film

[Production method of the present invention]
The present invention is a method for producing a composite film 10 in which a polarizing film 18 having a width direction 19 of a support film 11 and an absorption axis 17 in a different direction is laminated on the support film 11. The manufacturing method of the present invention includes step A and step B.

  In step A, the surface of the support film 11 is subjected to orientation treatment in two directions. The two directions are the first alignment processing direction 12 and the second alignment processing direction 13.

  In step B, a solution containing the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is applied to the surface of the support film 11. The lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 forms columnar aggregates 15 in the solution. The columnar aggregate 15 is oriented in the vector sum direction (orientation direction 16) of the first orientation treatment direction 12 and the second orientation treatment direction 13.

  The manufacturing method of the present invention may include other steps in addition to steps A and B. As such a process, for example, after the process B, there is a process of drying the alignment layer (polarizing film 18) of the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14.

[Step A]
In step A, the surface of the support film 11 is subjected to orientation treatment in two directions. The two directions are the first alignment processing direction 12 and the second alignment processing direction 13.

  The support film 11 supports the polarizing film 18 from one side. The material of the support film 11 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polyester resins, cellulose resins, cycloolefin resins, and acrylic resins.

  The support film 11 may be a single layer film or a multilayer film in which a polymer film such as polyimide or polyvinyl alcohol is coated on a single layer film. The total thickness of the support film 11 is preferably 10 μm to 200 μm.

  Examples of the alignment treatment include rubbing treatment, oblique vapor deposition treatment, and plasma treatment. These alignment treatments are described in, for example, Shoichi Matsumoto and Ryoko Kakuda, “Basics and Applications of Liquid Crystals” (Industry Research Committee, published in 1991).

As a method for performing the alignment treatment in two different directions in the plane, for example, there are the following methods.
(A) Rubbing is performed in two different directions.
(A) After the oblique deposition process, a rubbing process is performed in a different direction.
(C) Two rubbing films that have been rubbed in different directions are overlapped so that the rubbed surfaces face each other, and the orientation regulating force of the other rubbing film is transferred to one rubbing film. .

  When the two-direction alignment treatment applied to the support film 11 is the first alignment treatment (direction 12) and the second alignment treatment (direction 13), the first alignment treatment 12 and the second alignment treatment 13 are performed. The angle θ is preferably 30 ° to 150 °.

[Step B]
In Step B, a polarizing film 18 is formed by applying a solution containing the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 to the orientation-treated surface of the support film 11 obtained in Step A. The lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 forms columnar aggregates 15 in the solution. A large number of columnar aggregates 15 are formed into a thin film to form the polarizing film 18. The laminate including the support film 11 and the polarizing film 18 is the composite film 10 of the present invention.

  In the present invention, the “lyotropic liquid crystal compound” is a liquid crystal compound that dissolves in a solvent to form a liquid crystal compound solution and causes a phase change from the isotropic phase to the liquid crystal phase (or vice versa) due to a concentration change in the solution. .

  The lyotropic liquid crystal compound solution can be aligned in one direction by applying it to the alignment-treated surface in an isotropic phase state or a liquid crystal phase state.

  The lyotropic liquid crystal compound forms a columnar aggregate 15 by stacking with the molecular long axis (absorption axis 17) facing sideways. The length L1 of the columnar aggregate 15 obtained from X-ray diffraction is preferably 4 nm to 9 nm.

  The lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is not particularly limited as long as it exhibits the above properties. For example, azo compounds, anthraquinone compounds, perylene compounds, quinophthalone compounds, naphthoquinone compounds, and merocyanine compounds are used. .

  As the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 used in the present invention, an azo compound represented by the general formula (1) is suitable. The azo compound represented by the general formula (1) exhibits stable liquid crystallinity in a solution and is excellent in orientation.

In general formula (1), R represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, an acetyl group, a benzoyl group, or an optionally substituted phenyl group. M represents a counter ion, preferably a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal atom, or an alkaline earth metal atom. X represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a nitro group, a cyano group, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or an —SO ₃ M group.

  The azo compound represented by the general formula (1) is obtained by, for example, subjecting an aniline derivative and a naphthalenesulfonic acid derivative to diazotization and a coupling reaction by a conventional method to form a monoazo compound, and further diazotizing to aminonaphthol disulfone. It can be obtained by a coupling reaction with an acid derivative.

  The solution used in the present invention includes the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 and a solvent that dissolves the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14. The concentration of the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is preferably 1% by weight to 15% by weight with respect to the total weight of the solution.

  An arbitrary coater is used for applying the solution. The coater is, for example, a coater having a tension web die, a slot die, a wire bar, or a curtain roll.

  The polarizing film 18 obtained by the process B includes the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14, and the columnar aggregate 15 formed by the lyotropic liquid crystal compound 14 is aligned in one direction.

  Such a polarizing film 18 exhibits absorption dichroism in the visible light region (wavelength 380 nm to 780 nm). The thickness of the polarizing film 18 is preferably 0.1 μm to 5 μm.

  The polarizing film 18 is preferably dried so that the solvent content is 50% by weight or less. The drying means in this case is natural drying, reduced pressure drying, heat drying or the like.

[Composite film]
The composite film 10 obtained by the production method of the present invention includes a support film 11 and a polarizing film 18 having an absorption axis 17 in an oblique direction in the width direction 19 of the support film 11. The total thickness of the composite film 10 is preferably more than 10 μm and 250 μm or less.

[Synthesis example]
4-Nitroaniline and 8-amino-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid were subjected to diazotization and coupling reaction according to a conventional method to obtain a monoazo compound. "Regular method" is based on Yutaka Hosoda, "Theoretical Manufacturing, Dye Chemistry 5th Edition," July 15, 1968, published by Gihodo, pages 135-152.

  This monoazo compound is similarly diazotized by a conventional method, and further subjected to a coupling reaction with 1-amino-8-naphthol-2,4-disulfonic acid lithium salt to obtain a crude product containing the azo compound of the structural formula (2) Got. This was salted out with lithium chloride to obtain an azo compound of the structural formula (2).

  The azo compound of the structural formula (2) was dissolved in ion exchange water to prepare a 20% by weight aqueous solution. In this aqueous solution, the azo compound forms a columnar aggregate and exhibits a nematic liquid crystal phase at room temperature (23 ° C.).

[Example]
A support film is obtained by rubbing the surface of a cycloolefin resin film (Zeonor manufactured by Optes Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 100 μm in two directions with a cotton buff cloth (YA-25-C manufactured by Yoshikawa Chemical Co., Ltd.). It was. The two directions are 40 ° and 90 ° counterclockwise with respect to the width direction of the film.

  An aqueous solution (concentration 7% by weight) containing the azo compound of the structural formula (2) was applied to the rubbing surface of the support film, oriented, and dried to produce a polarizing film having a thickness of 0.5 μm.

  The orientation direction of the columnar aggregate of the obtained polarizing film was 65 ° counterclockwise with respect to the width direction of the support film. This direction is the vector sum direction of the rubbing process in two directions. The absorption axis of the obtained polarizing film was perpendicular to the alignment direction of the columnar aggregate and was 155 ° counterclockwise.

[Measuring method]
[Thickness]
A part of the polarizing film was peeled off, and the level difference was measured using a three-dimensional non-contact surface shape measurement system (Micromap MM5200 manufactured by Ryoka System Co., Ltd.) to determine the thickness of the polarizing film.

[Liquid crystal phase]
Using a polarizing microscope (OLYMPUS OPTIPHOT-POL) equipped with a large sample heating / cooling stage for microscope (10013L made by Japan High-Tech) with a small amount of lyotropic liquid crystal compound solution sandwiched between two glass slides, Observed.

  Although there is no restriction | limiting in the use of the polarizing film and composite film of this invention, For example, it is suitable for the liquid crystal panel of a liquid crystal television, a computer display, a mobile phone, a game machine, a digital camera, a video camera, a car navigation, OA apparatus, FA apparatus Used for.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Composite film 11 Support film 12 1st orientation processing direction 13 2nd orientation processing direction 14 Lyotropic liquid crystal compound 15 Column-like aggregate 16 Orientation direction 17 Absorption axis 18 Polarizing film 19 Width direction 20 Longitudinal direction 30 Composite film 31 Lyotropic liquid crystal Compound 32 Molecular long axis 32 Absorption axis 33 Columnar aggregate 35 Support film 36 Orientation processing direction 37 Orientation direction 38 Longitudinal direction 39 Width direction 40 Polarizing film

Claims (4)

A support film for supporting a polarizing film containing a lyotropic liquid crystal compound on one main surface,
A support film characterized by being subjected to orientation treatment in two different directions in the main surface so as to overlap the same region in the main surface.   The support film according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by the two directions is 30 ° to 150 °.   The support film according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the two directions is a longitudinal direction.   The said polarizing film has a diagonal absorption axis in the width direction of a film, The support film in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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