Shear-induced isotropic-to-lamellar transition

Reciprocating shear is found to increase the isotropic-to-lamellar transition temperature in a symmetric diblock copolymer melt. The temperature at which the isotropic state becomes unstable rapidly approaches the ordering transition as the shear rate increases. Shear-induced ordering results in lamellae orientation with wave vectors directed normal to the shear and velocity gradient directions. These results are anticipated by a recent theory that accounts for the suppression of fluctuations by a symmetry breaking field in this class of weakly first-order phase transitions.