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Main Authors: Martinez-Fernandez, Daniel, Pedrosa, Clara, Herranz, Miguel, Foteinopoulou, Katerina, Karayiannis, Nikos Ch., Laso, Manuel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.10376
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author Martinez-Fernandez, Daniel
Pedrosa, Clara
Herranz, Miguel
Foteinopoulou, Katerina
Karayiannis, Nikos Ch.
Laso, Manuel
author_facet Martinez-Fernandez, Daniel
Pedrosa, Clara
Herranz, Miguel
Foteinopoulou, Katerina
Karayiannis, Nikos Ch.
Laso, Manuel
contents Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we systematically study the effect of chain stiffness on the packing ability of linear polymers composed of hard spheres in extremely confined monolayers, corresponding effectively to 2D films. First, we explore the limit of random close packing as a function of the equilibrium bending angle and then quantify the local and global order by the degree of crystallinity and the nematic or tetratic orientational order parameter, respectively. A multi-scale wealth of structural behavior is observed, which is inherently absent in the case of athermal individual monomers and is surprisingly richer than its 3D counterpart under bulk conditions. As a general trend an isotropic to nematic transition is observed at sufficiently high surfaces coverages which is followed by the establishment of the tetratic state, which in turn marks the onset of the random close packing. For chains with right-angle bonds, the incompatibility of the imposed bending angle with the neighbor geometry of the triangular crystal leads to a singular intra- and inter-polymer tiling pattern made of squares and triangles with optimal local filling at high surface concentrations. The present study could serve as a first step towards the design of hard colloidal polymers with tunable structural behavior for 2D applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_10376
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Random Close Packing of Semi-Flexible Polymers in Two Dimensions: Emergence of Local and Global Order
Martinez-Fernandez, Daniel
Pedrosa, Clara
Herranz, Miguel
Foteinopoulou, Katerina
Karayiannis, Nikos Ch.
Laso, Manuel
Soft Condensed Matter
Computational Physics
Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we systematically study the effect of chain stiffness on the packing ability of linear polymers composed of hard spheres in extremely confined monolayers, corresponding effectively to 2D films. First, we explore the limit of random close packing as a function of the equilibrium bending angle and then quantify the local and global order by the degree of crystallinity and the nematic or tetratic orientational order parameter, respectively. A multi-scale wealth of structural behavior is observed, which is inherently absent in the case of athermal individual monomers and is surprisingly richer than its 3D counterpart under bulk conditions. As a general trend an isotropic to nematic transition is observed at sufficiently high surfaces coverages which is followed by the establishment of the tetratic state, which in turn marks the onset of the random close packing. For chains with right-angle bonds, the incompatibility of the imposed bending angle with the neighbor geometry of the triangular crystal leads to a singular intra- and inter-polymer tiling pattern made of squares and triangles with optimal local filling at high surface concentrations. The present study could serve as a first step towards the design of hard colloidal polymers with tunable structural behavior for 2D applications.
title Random Close Packing of Semi-Flexible Polymers in Two Dimensions: Emergence of Local and Global Order
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.10376