Spontaneous breaking of symmetry in liquid crystal (LC) films often reveals itself as a microscopic pattern of molecular alignment. In a smectic-A LC, the emergence of positional order at the transition from the nematic phase leads to periodic textures that can be used as optical microarrays, templates for soft lithography, and ordering matrices for the organization and manipulation of functional nanoparticles. While both 1d and 2d patterns have been obtained as a function of the LC film thickness and applied fields, the connection has not been made between pattern formation and the peculiar critical behavior of LCs at the nematic–smectic transition, still eluding a comprehensive theoretical explanation. In this article, we demonstrate that an intense bend distortion applied to the LC molecular director while cooling from the nematic phase produces a frustrated smectic phase with depressed transition temperature, and the characteristic 1d periodic texture previously observed in thin films and under applied electric fields. In light of De Gennes’ analogy with the normal-superconductor transition of a metal, we identify the 1d texture as the equivalent of the intermediate state in type I superconductors. The bend distortion is analog to the magnetic field in metals and penetrates in the frustrated phase as an array of undercooled nematic domains, periodically intermixed with bend-free smectic-A domains. Our findings provide fundamental evidence for theories of the nematic–smectic transition, highlighting the deep connection between phase frustration and pattern formation, and perspectives on the design of functional smectic microarrays.

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Here, we first report a study on coumarin 500 and liquid crystal including polyacrylonitrile nanofibers in terms of synthesis, characterizations, and supercapacitor performances. SEM, POM, FTIR, and DSC measurements showed that liquid crystal was inserted into the fine polyacrylonitrile nanofibers successfully. Because a strong molecular interaction took place between coumarin 500 and liquid crystal and coumarin 500 was sensitive to the polarity of the medium, the liquid crystal behaved as a guide material for coumarin 500, and it was expected that coumarin 500 was oriented by the director of the liquid crystal along the core of the fiber. The average polyacrylonitrile nanofiber size was between 0.19 to 0.25 μm, and liquid-crystal-doped and liquid-crystal +coumarin-500-doped fibers exhibited a similar distribution, which is approximately in the 0.30 to 0.60 μm interval. This proved that the fibers maintained their structure after modifications. Electrochemical evaluation of the different composite nanofibers showed that there was not a significant current increase upon liquid crystal addition into polyacrylonitrile nanofibers at voltammograms. C s values were enhanced after the coumarin 500 addition into liquid-crystal-doped nanofiber and obtained as 410.60 F/g with a specific energy value of 57.03 Wh/kg. Additionally, the long-term charge−discharge test of the liquid-crystal+coumarin-500-doped polyacrylonitrile graphite electrode showed a very steady distribution between 100th and the 2500th cycles with a 14.12% C s deviation. This is attributed to the stable and robust network of the PAN nanofiber and the synergetic effect between liquid crystal and coumarin 500 in the nanofiber net.

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