Liquid-crystalline ordering in ord-coil diblock copolymers studied by mesoscale simulations

Using mesoscale dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations, which ignore all atomistic details, we show the formation of lamella mesophases by cooling a fully disordered system composed of symmetric (A7B7) rod–coil diblock copolymers. Equilibration is achieved very rapidly using DPD, and isotropic, smectic A and crystalline phases of the rod–like blocks can be observed either by heating or cooling. An interesting pseudo–smectic phase can be characterized when the order–disorder transition temperature is above the clearing temperature. This phase gradually fades into a normal microphase–separated structure as the system is heated through the clearing temperature. Simulations of pure rods, however, show the formation of isotropic, nematic, smectic A and crystalline phases