Nematic order in solutions of semiflexible polymers: Hairpins, elastic constants, and the nematic-smectic transition

Coarse-grained models of lyotropic solutions of semiflexible polymers are studied by both molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations, using an implicit solvent bead-spring model with a bond-angle potential. We systematically vary the monomer density, persistence length, and contour length over a wide range and explore the full range from the isotropic-nematic transition to the nematic-smectic transition. In the nematic regime, we span the entire regime from rigid-rod like polymers to thin wormlike chains, confined in effective straight tubes caused by the collective nematic effective ordering field. We show that the distribution of bond angles relative to the director is well described by a Gaussian, irrespective of whether the chains are rod-like or rather flexible. However, the related concept of “deflection length” is shown to make sense only in the latter case for rather dilute solutions since otherwise the deflection length is of the order of about two bond lengths only. When the solution is semi-dilute, a substantial renormalization of the persistence length occurs, while this effect is absent in the isotropic phase even at rather high monomer densities. The effective radii of the “tubes” confining the chains in the related description of orientational ordering are significantly larger than the distances between neighboring chains, providing evidence for a pronounced collective character of orientational fluctuations. Hairpins can be identified close to the isotropic-nematic transition, and their probability of occurrence agrees qualitatively with the Vroege-Odijk theory. The corresponding theoretical predictions for the elastic constants, however, are not in good agreement with the simulations. We attribute the shortcomings of the theories to their neglect of the coupling between local density and orientational fluctuations. Finally, we detected for this model a transition to a smectic phase for reduced monomer densities near 0.7.