6533b821fe1ef96bd127aeff

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Semiflexible Polymers in Spherical Confinement: Bipolar Orientational Order Versus Tennis Ball States

Kurt BinderAndrey MilchevAndrey MilchevDaniel A. VegaDaniel A. VegaArash Nikoubashman

subject

Surface (mathematics)Materials scienceCiencias FísicasBent molecular geometryShell (structure)General Physics and AstronomyNanotechnology02 engineering and technology01 natural sciencesPhase TransitionTopological defect//purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https]Liquid crystal0103 physical sciencesPolymer010306 general physicsCondensed matter physics//purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3 [https]Radius021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologyAstronomíaCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterSPHERESTennis ball0210 nano-technologyCIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTASConfinement

description

Densely packed semiflexible polymers with contour length L confined in spheres with radius R of the same order as L cannot exhibit uniform nematic order. Depending on the chain stiffness (which we vary over a wide range), highly distorted structures form with topological defects on the sphere surface. These structures are completely different from previously observed ones of very long chains winding around the inner surface of spheres and from nematic droplets. At high densities, a thin shell of polymers close to the sphere surface exhibits a tennis ball texture due to the confinement-induced gradual bending of polymer bonds. In contrast, when the contour length of the chains is significantly smaller than the radius of the confining sphere, a few bent smectic layers form in the sphere. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate these complex structures, and suitable order parameters characterizing them are proposed. Fil: Nikoubashman, Arash. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; Alemania Fil: Vega, Daniel Alberto. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; Argentina Fil: Binder, Kurt. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; Alemania Fil: Milchev, Andrey. Bulgarian Academy Of Sciences; Bulgaria. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; Alemania

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2017-05-01Physical Review Letters
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.118.217803