Equilibrium thermodynamics of homopolymers and clusters: Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations of systems with square-well interactions

The thermodynamics of homopolymers and clusters with square-well interactions of up to 64 particles are studied with constant-temperature discontinuous molecular dynamics (DMD) simulations; for comparison Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are also reported. Homopolymers composed of more than five beads are found to exhibit two or more equilibrium transitions. In the long chain limit, these multiple transitions correspond to gas-to-liquid, liquid-to-solid, and solid-to-solid transitions. In particular, the liquid-to-solid-like disorder-to-order transition for isolated 32mers and 64mers is strongly first order (bimodal energy distribution) at the reduced square-well diameter $\text{λ=1.5.}$ As λ decreases from 1.5 to 1.3, the bimodal distribution becomes unimodal. The use of Lindemann’s rule for solids indicates that the structure formed right below the liquid-to-solid transition temperature has a solid core but a liquid surface. Comparing the homopolymer results with those for square-well clusters indicates that the bonding constraint in homopolymers increases the temperatures of transitions but decreases their strength. The solid structure of an isolated 64mer is nearly identical to that of a cluster of 64 beads. Possible approaches to the experimental observation of the solid-state for an isolated chain are discussed.