A multiscale approach to model hydrogen bonding: The case of polyamide

We present a simple multiscale model for polymer chains in which it is possible to selectively remove degrees of freedom. The model integrates all-atom and coarse-grained potentials in a simple and systematic way and allows a fast sampling of the complex conformational energy surface typical of polymers whilst maintaining a realistic description of selected atomistic interactions. In particular, we show that it is possible to simultaneously reproduce the structure of highly directional non-bonded interactions such as hydrogen bonds and efficiently explore the large number of conformations accessible to the polymer chain. We apply the method to a melt of polyamide removing from the model only the degrees of freedom associated to the aliphatic segments and keeping at atomistic resolution the amide groups involved in the formation of the hydrogen bonds. The results show that the multiscale model produces structural properties that are comparable with the fully atomistic model despite being five times faster to simulate.