Effect of elongational flow on the isotropic–nematic phase transition in rod-like systems

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Abstract
The effect of the elongational flow on the isotropic–nematic phase transition in monodisperse rigid rod-like molecules is examined. The critical density at which a strongly ordered state starts to form decreases in the presence of the external field. The width of the biphasic region decreases with increasing strain rate. It is shown that there is a critical strain rate above which only the ordered state is stable even in the infinite dilution limit. The critical strain rate is found to be inversely proportional to the cube of the number of monomer units that constitute the rod molecule.