Researchers Rick van den Hurk, Dr. Tijmen Bos, and Dr. Bob Pirok have, together with scientists Dr. Ynze Mengerink (Brightlands Chemelot Campus) and Prof. Dr. Ron Peters (Covestro, HIMS), developed a new algorithm that can analyze copolymers and determine their block structure, something that was previously out of reach with existing techniques.
Polymers are all around us, from the coatings on your phone and the materials in your running shoes to life-saving drug-delivery systems and medical implants. Many of these advanced materials are copolymers, which are made by combining different types of chemical building blocks.
Interestingly, even when two copolymers have the same overall composition, the way these building blocks are arranged can lead to drastically different properties. For example, one polymer might be rigid while another is flexible, or one transparent while another is opaque. Within a single batch, this arrangement can vary from molecule to molecule. This variability can be described using a concept called the block-length distribution (BLD), which captures how frequently different block arrangements occur. This distribution plays a key role in determining a material’s performance characteristics, including its flexibility, strength, and biodegradability.
Until now, accurately measuring these distributions at the molecular level has been a major challenge. Traditional techniques like nuclear magnetic resonance could only offer averaged information. The team’s newly developed algorithm changes that by combining tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data with a smart computational approach that takes fragmentation behavior into account. The algorithm allows researchers to reconstruct how blocks are distributed within a copolymer sample, giving a much more detailed picture of the material’s internal structure.
This method has already been successfully applied to study polyamides and polyurethanes, important industrial polymers found in everything from textiles to insulation foams. Notably, the findings showed that even polymers with the same chemical makeup can have very different block distributions, depending on how they were synthesized. These subtle differences can explain variations in material performance that would otherwise remain hidden.
The ability to determine BLDs with such precision not only improves our understanding of polymer chemistry but also opens the door to the rational design of next-generation materials. By fine-tuning the block arrangement, scientists and engineers can tailor materials more precisely to specific applications. It could also support the development of more sustainable materials, as better control over structure may lead to improved recyclability or allow for the use of bio-based feedstocks.
This work is part of the PARADISE project, a collaboration between academic institutions (VU Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam) and industrial partners including Covestro, DSM, Shell, and Genentech, aimed at driving forward innovation in polymer research.
Relevant article: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5c00297,