TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Consistent Field Theory Simulations of Wormlike Chains on Cylindrical Surface
AU - Liang , Qin
AU - Chen , Lu
AU - Zhang , Hui
AU - Zhang , Dongliang
JO - International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling
VL - 2
SP - 357
EP - 374
PY - 2018
DA - 2018/10
SN - 16
DO - http://doi.org/
UR - https://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/ijnam/12808.html
KW - wormlike chain model, modified diffusion equation, self-consistent field theory, cylindrical surface, micro-phase structure.
AB - <p style="text-align: justify;">Experimental investigation has shown that semiflexible polymers can wrap orderly
around a cylinder. Recent Monte Carlo simulations also show that semiflexible polymers can
develop linear or helical or random phase structures, depending on the rigidity or length of the
polymer. Here, we use wormlike chain model and self-consistent field theory with Onsager interaction
to study the micro-phase structure of polymers with local rigidity. We first give the modified
diffusion equation for a wormlike chain on cylindrical surface, and then solve the equilibrium equations
of the self-consistent field. A time splitting scheme is developed to solve the modified
diffusion equation. However, only two kinds of nematic structures (N1 and N2) are detected in
our simulation. In N1, the polymers are mainly oriented perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder;
while in N2, the polymers are mainly oriented parallel to the axis of the cylinder. N1 is a
metastable structure with free energy higher than N2.</p>