Patent ID: 6979413

Claim:
An optical recording material comprising a side-chain polymer liquid crystal which contains a photochromic diarylethene compound (A), or a side-chain type polymer liquid crystal having a polymer chain, said polymer chain containing therein a monomeric unit to which an electrocyclic-reaction-type photochromic compound is bonded, wherein said monomeric unit is a polymerized photochromic diarylethene compound (A-1) having a polymerizable group, wherein said photochromic diarylethene compound (A) and said photochromic diarylethene compound (A-1) are a compound represented by the following formula (1), provided that said photochromic diarylethene compound (A-1) has a polymerizable unsaturated group, wherein X in the formula (1) represents the above formula (a) or formula (b), provided that R 1 , R 4 , and R 6 each independently represent an alkyl group which may have a substituent, or an alkoxy group which may have a substituent, R 2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an alkoxy group which may have a substituent, or an organic group containing a monovalent polymerizable unsaturated group, R 3 and R 5 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, a nitro group, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an alkoxy group which may have a substituent, a monovalent aromatic ring which may have a substituent, or an organic group containing a monovalent polymerizable unsaturated group, R 7 represents a monovalent aromatic ring group which may have a substituent, R 8 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, or an alkoxy group which may have a substituent, and ring L represents a carbon ring or a heterocyclic ring.