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Understanding the Microstructure-Property Relationship in Polymeric Porous Materials
Establishing a clear connection between the features of microstructures and their associated properties is essential for enhancing material performance and driving the development of next-generation structural and functional materials. However, this pursuit comes with inherent complexities.
To tackle these complexities, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have created a robust computational framework designed to analyze the implications of porous microstructures and their properties. Their findings have been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
“We have crafted a comprehensive computational framework that integrates physics-based microstructure modeling with microstructure feature extraction, effective property evaluation that considers the microstructure, and machine-learning analysis tools,” explained Longsheng Feng, the lead author and a scientist at LLNL.
The research team focused on polymer-based porous materials as a model system, revealing how polymerization dynamics influence a variety of microstructure features, such as domain size and the distribution of pore sizes, and how these aspects affect transport properties.
“Our goal is to create a framework that not only aids in understanding how microstructures form through physics-based models and assesses their effective properties, but also identifies which specific microstructure features dictate distinct properties and the mechanisms behind this,” added Tae Wook Heo, another LLNL scientist and co-author of the study.
This innovative approach provides a new lens for evaluating microstructure-property relationships in polymer-based porous materials, thus paving the way for the creation of advanced materials.
“Comprehending these relationships can inform processing methods to finely tune specific microstructures, ultimately achieving desirable properties for various applications, such as membranes,” stated Juergen Biener, a co-author and fellow LLNL scientist.
In addition to the aforementioned researchers, Sijia Huang from LLNL also contributed to the paper.
More information: Longsheng Feng et al., Integrated Framework to Model Microstructure Evolution and Decipher the Microstructure–Property Relationship in Polymeric Porous Materials, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c03011
Provided by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Citation: Unveiling the key factors that determine properties of porous polymer materials (2024, August 8) retrieved 8 August 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-08-unveiling-key-factors-properties-porous.html
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