Fine-tuning of colloidal polymer crystals by molecular simulation

Through extensive molecular simulations we determine a phase diagram of attractive, fully flexible polymer chains in two and three dimensions. A rich collection of distinct crystal morphologies appear, which can be finely tuned through the range of attraction. In three dimensions these include the face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, simple hexagonal, and body-centered cubic crystals and the Frank-Kasper phase. In two dimensions the dominant structures are the triangular and square crystals. A simple geometric model is proposed, based on the concept of cumulative neighbors of ideal crystals, which can accurately predict most of the observed structures and the corresponding transitions. The attraction range can thus be considered as an adjustable parameter for the design of colloidal polymer crystals with tailored morphologies.