Cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (COC) is an organic chemical, an carbonate ester

Carbonate ester

A carbonate ester is a functional group in organic chemistry consisting of a carbonyl group flanked by two alkoxy groups. The general structure of these carbonates is R1OOR2 and they are related to esters R1OR and ethers R1OR2 and also to the inorganic carbonates.Carbonate esters are used as...

 of cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...

 and oleyl alcohol

Oleyl alcohol

Oleyl alcohol, octadecenol, or cis-9-octadecen-1-ol, is a fatty alcohol coming from inedible beef fat. It is also found in fish oil.Its chemical formula is 1836 or CH37-CH=CH-8OH.It is a non-ionic, unsaturated fatty alcohol....

 with carbonic acid

Carbonic acid

Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...

. It is a liquid crystal

Liquid crystal

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that have properties between those of a conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. For instance, an LC may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many different types of LC phases, which can be...

 material forming cholesteric liquid crystal

Cholesteric liquid crystal

A cholesteric liquid crystal is a type of liquid crystal with a helical structure and which is therefore chiral. Cholesteric liquid crystals are also known as chiral nematic liquid crystals. They organize in layers with no positional ordering within layers, but a director axis which varies with...

s with helical structure. It is a transparent liquid, or a soft crystalline material with melting point around 20 °C. It can be used with cholesteryl nonanoate

Cholesteryl nonanoate

Cholesteryl nonanoate, also called cholesteryl pelargonate, 3β-cholest-5-en-3-ol nonaoate or cholest-5-ene-3-β-yl nonanoate, is an ester of cholesterol and nonanoic acid. It is a liquid crystal material forming cholesteric liquid crystals with helical structure...

 and cholesteryl benzoate

Cholesteryl benzoate

Cholesteryl benzoate, also called 5-cholesten-3-yl benzoate, is an organic chemical, an ester of cholesterol and benzoic acid. It is a liquid crystal material forming cholesteric liquid crystals with helical structure....

 in some thermochromic liquid crystals.

It is used in some hair colors, make-ups, and some other cosmetic preparations.

It can be also used as a component of the liquid crystals used for liquid crystal display

Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....

s.