Project

Molecular-scale driven morphology design for sustainable polymer applications

Code
12B3Y24N
Duration
01 November 2023 → 31 October 2026
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Engineering and technology
    • Reacting systems
    • Chemical kinetics and thermodynamics
    • Modelling, simulation and optimisation
    • Chemical process design
    • Polymer reaction engineering
Keywords
Morphology control Multi-phase polymeric materials Multi-scale modeling
 
Project description

Polymeric materials play a crucial role in our society. A key challenge is the design of multi-functional materials for which dedicated morphologies are needed. Interesting are multi-phase polymerizations aiming at well-defined morphologies for applications such as batteries and composites with increased longevity. Within the polymer reaction engineering field these polymerizations are although less studied with often molecular phenomena (e.g. chain-to-chain deviations) treated with low level of detail and at most the control of a particle size distribution. A leap of knowledge can only be obtained by accounting for all relevant length scales with specifically a dedicated mapping of the interaction between the molecular and morphologic scale. In this project, I will develop a multi-scale modeling tool for multi-phase polymerizations to determine which type, amount and connectivity of polymer phases are needed to obtain multi-functionality. The innovation lies in identifying the appropriate polymerization technique and reaction conditions leading to the most optimal polymer microstructure to achieve morphological control, initially at lab and ultimately at industrial scale. Novel meso-scale stochastic algorithms are developed for model-based design with experimental validation embedded in an international context with additional stays abroad, expanding my horizon in view of a targeted academic career.