Bent-core (that is, banana-shaped) liquid crystals (LCs) have recently emerged as one of the most significant discoveries in the area of ferroelectric LCs. [1][2][3] These polar, chevron-shaped molecules have the ability to form switchable ferro-and antiferroelectric liquid-crystalline phases, even though the molecules are achiral. [1][2][3] Prior to the discovery of these materials, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid-crystalline phases had only been possible with chiral, rodlike mesogens that adopt tilted layered phases (that is, smectic C (SmC) phases). [4] There is currently a great deal of interest in bentcore mesogens because they exhibit complex phase behavior not seen in other liquid-crystalline molecular architectures. They also offer certain advantages over traditional rodlike chiral SmC mesogens as switching materials in ferroelectric LC displays [5] and as building blocks for ordered, noncentrosymmetric polar polymer materials (for example, for nonlinear optical (NLO), piezoelectric, and pyroelectric applications). [2,[6][7][8] For example, bent-core LCs can be more readily designed, synthesized, and modified since enantiomerically pure or enriched starting materials are not required. Unfortunately, bent-core mesogens generally form liquidcrystalline phases at relatively high temperatures (greater than ca. 140 8C). [1,2] This not only limits their usefulness in device applications, but also makes detailed analysis of their mesophases more difficult. It has also not yet been possible to synthesize a polymerizable derivative of a bent-core mesogen that retains the desired liquid-crystalline properties. Polymerizable or cross-linkable bent-core LCs would afford the ability to stabilize/trap the switchable liquid-crystalline mesophases. This situation would not only aid in their structural characterization, but the resulting polar polymers could also be used for
[*] Prof.