Springs in stripes: Evaluating chiral block copolymer behavior in the lamellar morphology

Coil-helix block copolymers, i.e. blocks with different chemistries and different conformations, are versatile building blocks due to the diverse range of conformational properties that the helical block (pitch, helical radius, persistence length) can adopt. This study uses coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to bridge the gap between geometrical and experimental studies of helical polymers by examining the effects of helical conformation on the lamellar phase. In particular, helical blocks with higher molecular aspect ratio and higher stiffness are found to enlarge domain sizes and to produce anisotropic effects such as nematic ordering and enhanced local helicity.