Patent ID: 8574454

Claim:
Photo-polymerized, patterned or unpatterned liquid crystal polymer comprising thio-ether units of formula (I) * covalent bond, which links the unit of formula (I) to the residue of the polymer wherein LC 1 is selected from the group of liquid crystal residues, representing the polymerized form of a liquid crystal, which has in its un-polymerized form at least two polymerizable unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds, or carbon-nitrogen-bonds, and comprising one or more rod-shaped, board-shaped or disk-shaped mesogenic groups, X 1 is selected from the group of aliphatic organic residues, which are straight-chain or branched, saturated and unsaturated hydrogencarbons, wherein at least one carbon, hydrogen and/or hydrogencarbon may be replaced by a hetereoatom, which is N, S, O, OOC, COO, OCO, OCOO, OOCO or CO, and n 1 is an integer ≧0 and m 1 is an integer ≧0; with the proviso that if n 1 is 0, then m 1 is >0, and if m 1 is 0, then n 1 >0; and which is prepared in an atmosphere containing oxygen, with the proviso that polymer dispersed liquid crystals are excluded for LC 1 .