Funct. Mater. 2026; 33 (2): 200-210.

We fabricated multilayered glass/indium tin oxide/anodic aluminum oxide structures by sequential RF magnetron sputtering of indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum films on glass substrates, followed by electrochemical anodization to convert the aluminum into a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) Al₂O₃ matrix. Surface morphology and structural features of the ITO and AAO layers were characterized using AFM, SEM, EDX, spectrophotometry and ellipsometry. AAO-based nanoporous substrates, characterized by highly ordered, vertically aligned pore arrays, serve as effective templates for promoting homeotropic alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules. This orientation is necessary for the realization of electric field-induced B-effect in LCs with negative dielectric anisotropy. This paper investigates the behavior of nematic LC (4-methoxybenzylidene)-4’-butylaniline (MBBA) with negative dielectric anisotropy confined within cylindrical nanopores formed in AAO films. In LCs with negative dielectric anisotropy, an electrohydrodynamic instability (EHDI) occurs at higher electric fields, limiting their use as displays. The study examines how confinement in AAO nanopores affects the EHDI threshold voltage and critical frequency of disappearance of EHDI in MBBA. Our results demonstrate that the AAO substrate enhances the stability of the homeotropic alignment and threshold voltage of undesirable EHDI. These findings underscore the potential of AAO-based platforms for advanced LC devices with better performance.