Liquid crystal display device

1. A liquid crystal display device, comprising:

a pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent;

a liquid crystal layer placed between the pair of substrates;

an electrode group, formed on at least one of the pair of substrates, for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer; and

an alignment control film placed on at least one of the pair of substrates,

wherein the alignment control film is formed of polyimide and a precursor of the polyimide,

each of the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide being obtained from a cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative represented by the following chemical formula (1) and aromatic diamine as reactants, and

the alignment control film is provided with alignment capability by photo-alignment treatment:

where at least one of Z 1 to Z 4 is a substituent represented by —NR 2 , —SR, —OH, —(CH 2 ) n —COOR, —CN, or —NO 2 (R's each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having a carbon number of 1 to 4, and n represents an integer of 0 to 2), and the others are hydrogen atoms.

2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein the aromatic diamine contains at least one kind of aromatic diamines selected from a compound group represented by the following chemical formulae (101) to (110):

where X's each independently have any one of the following structures: —CH 2 —, —CO—, —O—, —NH—, —CO—NH—, —S—, —SO—, and —SO 2 —.

3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 2 , wherein the aromatic diamine contains at least two different kinds of aromatic diamines selected from a compound group represented by the following chemical formulae (101) to (110).

4. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein a tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride used as a material for the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide contains the cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative represented by the chemical formula (1) in a ratio of 70 mol% to 100 mol%.

5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide being obtained from the cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative represented by the following chemical formula (1) and aromatic diamine and the cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivative represented by the following chemical formula (2) as reactants:

where at least one of Y 1 to Y 4 is a methyl group or a methoxy group, and the others are hydrogen atoms.

6. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein the precursor of the polyimide contains a polyamide acid alkyl ester having an alkyl group of a carbon number of 1 to 4.

7. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrode group is formed on only any one of the pair of substrates.

8. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein a pretilt angle of the liquid crystal layer is 1 degree or less.

9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein at least two of Z 1 to Z 4 in the chemical formula (1) are substituents each represented by —NR 2 , —SR, —OH, —COR, —(CH 2 ) n —COOR, —CN, or —NO 2 (R′s each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having a carbon number of 1 to 4, and n represents an integer of 0 to 2), and the others are hydrogen atoms.

10. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the polyimide and the precursor of the polyimide contains, as a material, at least two kinds of the cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride derivatives each represented by the chemical formula (1) and having different number of substituents.