Polymer Science Group

The Polymer Group conducts fundamental and applied studies on the condensed state structure, morphology, dynamics, and thermal properties of linear macromolecules and polymer blends, using a wide variety of experimental and computational tools. Materials of interest range from bulk polymers, films, fibers, copolymers, polymer blends and composites. Varying degrees of molecular ordering are being investigated, including the crystalline, semicrystalline, mesophase (liquid-, plastic-, and condis-crystals) and amorphous states (glasses, melts).

Advanced experimental facilities include temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry, heat capacity, and thermal and dynamical mechanical analysis; small- and wide-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, light scattering, and fiber diffraction. Morphology is examined with atomic force, scanning tunnelling, and optical microscopies and the dynamical properties are probed with solid state NMR and inelastic neutron scattering. The group has extensive experience at national and international user facilities (HFIR, NCSASR, NSLS, IPNS, ISIS, SNS(future) ) and maintains the Advanced THermal AnalysiS (ATHAS) facility which conducts research and maintains a data bank on thermal properties of linear macromolecules.

A substantial effort in computational materials science includes computational neural networks, graph theory, genetic algorithms, wavelet theory, fuzzy logic, molecular dynamics, and quantum chemistry to predict both properties from structure and also structure from properties using simulations containing as many as 300,000 atoms for hundreds of nanoseconds. Molecular dynamics-based methods are used for the computation of vibrational spectra and dispersion curves of macromolecular systems; general neural network programs for analyzing data, either from chemical instrumentation or from simulations; quantum chemical calculation of electronic structure and potential energy surfaces. A powerful workstation cluster is used for the computational effort.

The group consists of 5 full-time staff members, postdocs, students and guest scientists. Projects are carried out for the Department of Energy and occasional industrial partners.

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