Orientational phase transitions in the hexagonal phase of a diblock copolymer melt under shear flow

TL;DR

This paper extends a theoretical model to analyze how shear flow influences the orientation of hexagonal diblock copolymer phases, explaining experimental observations and the difficulty in observing certain orientations.

Contribution

It generalizes previous theory to describe orientational behavior of hexagonal phases under shear, highlighting weaker ordering effects compared to lamellae.

Findings

Parallel orientation stable at low shear rates

Perpendicular orientation stable at high shear rates

Reproduces experimental results and explains observational challenges

Abstract

We generalize the earlier theory by Fredrickson [J. Rheol. v.38, 1045 (1994)] to study the orientational behaviour of the hexagonal phase of diblock copolymer melt subjected to steady shear flow. We use symmetry arguments to show that the orientational ordering in the hexagonal phase is a much weaker effect than in the lamellae. We predict the parallel orientation to be stable at low and the perpendicular orientation at high shear rates. Our analysis reproduces the experimental results by Tepe et al. [Macromolecules v.28, 3008 (1995)] and explains the difficulties in experimental observation of the different orientations in the hexagonal phase.