| abstract |
An optically active compound of the general formula (1) useful as a chiral dopant and use thereof,wherein each of m and n is independently an integer of 4 to 8, A is -Ph-COO-Ph-, -Ph-Ph-COO-, -Cy-COO-Ph-, -Ph-OOC-Ph-COO-, -Ph-OOC-Cy-COO-, -Ph-OOC-Np-COO- or -Np-OOC- in which -Ph- is a 1,4-phenylene group, -Cy- is a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene group and -Np- is a 2,6-naphtylene group, and C* is an asymmetric carbon atom.Having a helical twisting power (HTP) of at least 9 and having a property that the helical pitch induced decreases with an increase in temperature, the optically active compound of the present invention has an excellent value as a chiral dopant for a nematic liquid crystal. |