We map out the solid-state morphologies formed by model soft-pearl-necklacepolymers as a function of bending stiffness $k_b$ spanning the range from fullyflexible to rodlike chains. The ratio of Kuhn length to bead diameter($l_K/r_0$) increases monotonically with increasing $k_b$ and yields aone-parameter model that relates chain shape to bulk morphology and yieldsinsights into the packing of anisotropic particles. In the flexible limit,monomers occupy the sites of close-packed crystallites while chains retainrandom-walk-like order. In the rodlike limit, nematic chain ordering typical oflamellar precursors coexists with close-packing. At intermediate values ofbending stiffness the competition between random-walk-like and nematic chainordering produces glass-formation; the range of $k_b$ over which this occursincreases with the thermal cooling rate $|\dot{T}|$ implemented in ourmolecular dynamics simulations. Finally, values of $k_b$ between theglass-forming and rodlike ranges produce complex ordered phases such asclose-packed spirals. Our results should prove useful for rational design ofdense colloidal-polymer phases with desired morphologies.
展开▼
