Carbon nanotube guided noncovalent assembly of polyacetylene chains into muti-strand helices

Molecular dynamics simulations show that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can guide several polyacetylene (PA) chains to noncovalently stack onto outer surface and self-assemble into multi-stranded helical morphology. The basic interaction behavior and self-assembly mechanism are particularly explained. PA helices on SWCNTs can be controlled by tube diameter, number and length of PAs and temperature. Two formulas are provided to estimate the number of PA chains that can form perfect helices on a given SWCNT. The knowledge of helical architectures will provide scientific basis for designing and synthesizing polymer helices and further lead to a better understanding of biological helices.