Modelling polymer crystalline microstructure and gas barrier properties

There is an urgent societal need to accelerate the development of sustainable plastics, and transition away from fossil sourced plastics. Plastic thin films are used in a variety of applications, ranging from low cost food packaging to high end electronics, where mechanical strength and flexibility, and gas and water barrier properties are of critical importance. Typically filler particles and plasticisers are added to improve the film performance, and both additives change the crystallinity and microstructure of the polymer. This project aims to model the microstructure and find out how it affects film performance.