MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION OF THE ROD COIL AND ORDER-DISORDER TRANSITIONS IN POLYNEMATIC MACROMOLECULES

Recent theoretical descriptions of the nematic order-disorder transition in polynematic macromolecules have generally concurred that there is a first-order transition between the disordered and aligned states of the system. The role of chain length and stiffness in determining the temperature at which the transition occurs is less conclusive, however. Here we present a Monte Carlo investigation of semiflexibly sequentially connected rods and determine the relationship between the order-disorder and the so-called rod-coil transitions. Particular attention is paid to the development of hairpins and their role in the rationalization of the behavior characteristics of the system.