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Scientific programme


Over the last fifteen years the Polymer IRC has nurtured the growth of a community of polymer scientists and engineers. These dedicated individuals contribute the broadest range of expertise available anywhere in Europe to core IRC scientific programmes, as well as being available for external consultation and research contracts.

Key skills in the IRC

The IRC skill base is categorised into four 'platforms' reflecting core abilities of the IRC. These platforms are:

Engineering

(Photograph of a micromoulded plastic product weighing 340 microgrammes.)

Engineers contribute core expertise in conventional polymer processing, micromoulding and manufacture. Additionally they have developed scaled engineering solutions to processing new polymers, and processing polymers in novel environments (such as within synchrotron facilities).

Engineering developments have focused on adopting, understanding and developing a range of process monitoring techniques. These permit us to study the molecular organisation of viscoelastic materials in process and in model. Techniques available include:

  • Stress-birefringence, particle velocity and other process imaging methods
  • At-process vibrational spectroscopy
  • In process scattering techniques (XRD and SANS)
  • Melt temperature fields.

Above right: Photograph of a micromoulded plastic product weighing 0.34 mg. An example of our scaled engineering expertise is the flow cell illustrated on our About the Polymer IRC page.

Characterisation

(Brush heights of a polyelectrolyte comb measured shown in AFM pictures.)

The ability to accurately evaluate the relevant chemical, physical and biological properties of materials underpins all of the scientific programmes undertaken by the Polymer IRC.

There is considerable expertise in morphology studies - by microscopy (optical, electron and atomic force and related technologies) or scattering technologies using local, national or international facilities (ISIS and the ESRF).

There are more specific techniques and skills distributed across the IRC to measure functional properties (mechanical, electronic, and optical, in solid, melt or solution phases). Most functional properties can be measured on nano-scale samples, films and interfaces using AFM technologies as required.

Chemical analysis facilities are extensive, including colligative properties, surface and bulk analysis, hyphenated mass spectroscopic methods and so on. Techniques that measure the biological-compatibility of polymers are increasingly important. This reflects the increase in number and types of biomedical applications being developed by members of the IRC. Biomedical studies currently include polymers for sensors, drug release or packaging and tissue replacement therapy.

Above right: Brush heights of a polyelectrolyte comb measured from AFM pictures in contracted (unionised - top) and fully expanded (ionised - bottom) forms. The brush height changes between 38 and 250 nm in the two forms.

Theory and modelling

(A graphical representation flow during an extrusion process.)

Over the last fifteen years, staff at the Polymer IRC have been responsible for developing many of the modelling and theoretical tools now used in industry and academia. New applications and developments continue apace, including:

  • The rheological properties of polymeric fluids can now be modelled quantitatively as a function of their molecular architecture and weight distribution. This work is now applied to design die geometries, optimise new resin formulations and predict and control frozen in stress.
  • Mapping molecular structure using SANS, permits polymer chain orientation to be measured through a process geometry.
  • Molecular simulation is increasingly important to predict the structures of macromolecules with novel hyperbranched architectures.
  • Advanced reaction modelling techniques are increasingly able to model the emergence of morphology in multiphase systems

As a result, scientists and engineers across the IRC have a ready and unique access to a range of theoretical and modelling tools and expertise in polymers and soft-nanotechnology.

Above right: A graphical representation flow during an extrusion process, predicted using 'flowSolve' software developed in the IRC.

Recent work includes modelling of polymer nanostructures, an essential part of the work to develope practical techniques for manufacturing nanoscale structures and devices. For more information, please see the link below:

Science Structural Control Of Copolymers

Synthesis

(Supramolecular organisation of synthesised oligothiophenes.)

Synthetic expertise within the IRC is very strong, permitting almost limitless access to complex functional macromolecules and materials. Recent developments in synthetic techniques include the development of:

  • Next generation branched structures with macromolecular spacers between branch points, yielding novel hyperbranched polymers (HyperMacs) and dendrimers (DendriMacs). These give access to a new range of responsive polymers and side step the steric crowding problems of conventional dendrimers.
  • Smart polymers for emulsion control
  • Patterned polymer particles with high target molecule specificity.
  • Highly porous polymers with controlled void sizes (PolyHIPEs).

Above right: Supramolecular organisation of synthesised oligothiophenes can be controlled by experimental protocols to give spheres, ribbons layered structures or helices. The red scale bar in the image is 100 nm long.


Many of the staff within each of these platforms will be engaged in studying one or more of the IRC scientific programmes at any one time. Current programmes include:

Novel architectures
Reactive processing and blending
Polymers for electronics
Biologically related macromolecules
Microscale polymer processing (MUPP)


 
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The IRC includes the University of Bradford, the University of Durham, the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield.