NEAR-UV TRANSPARENT NEMATICS.

UV-transparent nematic liquid crystals synthesised specifically for use as components of nematic mixtures for the Photoluminescent Liquid Crystal Display (PL-LCD) are reported. These polar and apolar nematic liquid crystals do not possess conjugated phenyl rings or cyano-groups. Where two phenyl rings are present, they are separated by a non-conjugated linking group, so that they do not absorb in the visible or the near ultra-violet. Polar and apolar nematics have been combined to generate UV-transparent nematic mixtures of positive dielectric anisotropy for use in TN-PL-LCDs and STN-PL-LCDs transmitting monochromatic UV light at 365 or 390 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]