Patent ID: 6838128

Claim:
A liquid crystal composition comprising one or more chiral nonracemic compounds of formula: where the substituents between Z and G represent the core; where G is a chiral nonracemic optionally substituted α-ester γ-lactone of formula: where * indicates a chiral carbon, R 1 is a straight-chain or branched alkyl or alkenyl group wherein one or more non-neighboring carbon atoms can be replaced with an oxygen atom and wherein one or more carbons can be substituted with one or more halogens; R 2 and R 3 , independently of one another, can be H, halogen or a lower alkyl or alkenyl group; X is H, or a lower alkyl group; R is selected from the group consisting of: (1) an achiral straight chain or branched silane or siloxane having one or more silicon atoms and which may be substituted with one or more halogens (2) an achiral linear or branched perfluorinated or partially fluorinated alkyl group (R F ); (3) an achiral linear, cyclic or branched perfluorinated or partially fluorinated ether group; (4) an achiral linear or branched ether having one or more oxygen atoms and which may be substituted with one or more halogens; (5) an achiral alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl group which may be substituted with one of more halogens; (6) or a straight chain or branched thioether having one or more sulfur atoms and which may be substituted with one or more halogens. and where: Z is a linker selected from the group consisting of O, CO, OOC, COO, S or a single bond; core rings A, B and C can be aromatic or alicyclic; if aromatic, one or two ring carbons can be replaced with a nitrogen; or if alicyclic, rings can contain 3-10 carbon atoms and optionally can contain a double bond, wherein one or two CH 2 of the alicyclic ring can be replaced with a nitrogen, sulfur, or oxygen atom, or a C═O group; Y represents up to four substituents on a given ring when the ring is aromatic and up to 20 substituents when the ring is alicyclic, where substituents are selected from halides, CN, NO 2 , alkyl or alkoxy; linkers A and B, independently, are selected from the group consisting of a single bond, —COO—, —OOC—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —OCH 2 —, —CH 2 —O—, —CH═CH— (cis or trans); —C═C—, and —CH═CH—CH═CH— (cis or trans); and where a and b are integers that are 0 or 1 and where a+b is 1 or 2; wherein when X is H, R is not an achiral linear partially fluorinated ether group.