Novel liquid crystal (LC) trimers with a flexible tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN) core and cyanobiphenyl arms have been designed. These non-traditional mesogens form nematic mesophase over a broad temperature range depending on the alkyl chain length. Their chemical structures were confirmed by the combination of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, APT, COSY and FT-IR spectra. The mesophases were characterized by polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis showed that LC trimers are highly thermal stable both in the range of the mesophase and above the clearing point. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.