An organic-inorganic hybrid bent-core liquid crystal (BCLC) with eight bent-core mesogens end-attached to inorganic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) cores was synthesized and characterized to study how the inorganic cubic core may affect the liquid crystalline phase behavior and electro-optical properties of the BCLC.POSS8BC was successfully synthesized by hydrosilylation reaction of Q8MH8 and 3′-［4-(4-dodecyloxybenzoyloxy)-benzoyloxy］-4-(10-undecen-1-yloxy) benzoyloxybiphenyl with Pt(dvs) as catalyst in high yield.Well-defined chemical structure of POSS-8BC was confirmed by NMR

IR

elemental analysis

and GPC.Liquid crystalline phase behavior of this compound was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry

1D and 2D wideangle X-ray diffractions

and small-angle X-ray scattering.Meanwhile

electro-optical characterization was carried out by applying a triangular wave electric field.Response current was measured

and texture change under the electric field was observed.Two bilayer antiferroelectric SmC phases can be confirmed for POSS-8BC.In the higher temperature LC phase

the arrangement of POSS cores in the layer is not ordered.It is a conventional SmCA2PA phase with layer thickness of 8.0 nm.In the lower temperature LC phase

layer thickness decreases to 7.7 nm.POSS cores from a two-dimensionally ordered structure between two bilayers.It is a bilayer SmCAPA phase with inorganic nano-size mesophase dispersed in it.To our best knowledge

it is the first antiferroelectric LC phase with inorganic nano-size mesophase dispersed in it.