For the first hundred years of macromolecular synthesis and design, the emphasis was on control of material properties to optimize processes and (often) mechanical properties for commercial materials. As the second century of polymer design focuses more on polymer sustainability and, specifically, approaches for a circular polymer economy, the boundaries of structure-property relationships must also include concerns such as controlled degradation and depolymerization, energy use, the role of additives for recycling, and quantitative measurements of post-consumer resin quality. This complex polymer “ecosystem” requires measurements that can separate and differentiate complex mixtures of polymers, and additives to be scalable and consistent for large scale use of recycled polymeric materials. This talk will highlight the approach of synthesizing model material families – specifically controlled polyolefin copolymers, where material architecture, chemistry, sequence, molar mass, and dispersity, are systematically varied and blended to explore quantitative structure-property-performance measurements demonstrated by several analytical methods such as high-temperature size exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and near-infrared spectroscopy, among other chemical characterization methods. Focus on the role of blends and additives will also be discussed along with emerging efforts in correlating multiple measurement methods, which will be useful in characterizing post-consumer resins and ensuring quality of recycled materials with varying feedstock composition.<br/><br/>The approach of quality materials synthesis to guide and develop quality measurements has been among many of the contributions and causes championed by Dr. Beers during her tenure within the Materials Science & Engineering Division at NIST.

Multimodal characterization of model polyolefins: Understanding structure-property relationships and their impacts on polymer circularity

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.