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Rod-shaped colloids with attractive tips can form linear aggregates that maysubsequently undergo hierarchical self-assembly into nematic fluids. Inspiredby recent modelling efforts on chromonic liquid crystals, composed of discoticbuilding blocks, we formulate a second-virial theory for reversiblesupramolecular rods. Unlike chromonics, these systems are capable of formingstable nematic phases in the high-temperature, monomeric limit in the absenceof polymerization. Changing the tip potential from attractive to repulsive thusenables a smooth crossover from a monomeric to a polymeric nematic fluid. Weanalyze the isotropic-nematic phase behavior for both regimes and address thenematic elastic properties. The theory accounts for the molecular flexibilityand chirality of the filaments and respects the intrinsic chain-lengthdependence of nematic order. We also discuss the impact of polymerizationinhibitors on the phase behavior in the polymeric regime and find that theinhibitors cause a marked narrowing of the isotropic-nematic biphasic region,and generate reentrance nematization as well as a mass density inversion of thecoexisting phases. We finally discuss the elastic moduli of rod-based polymericnematics by qualitative comparing their elastic anisotropies with those ofchromonic liquid crystals and other nanoparticle-based nematics.

Polymeric nematics of associating rods: phase behavior, chiral propagation and elasticity