Quantifying the effect of polymer blending through molecular modelling of cyanurate polymers

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44487. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044487. Epub 2012 Sep 6.

Abstract

Modification of polymer properties by blending is a common practice in the polymer industry. We report here a study of blends of cyanurate polymers by molecular modelling that shows that the final experimentally determined properties can be predicted from first principles modelling to a good degree of accuracy. There is always a compromise between simulation length, accuracy and speed of prediction. A comparison of simulation times shows that 125ps of molecular dynamics simulation at each temperature provides the optimum compromise for models of this size with current technology. This study opens up the possibility of computer aided design of polymer blends with desired physical and mechanical properties.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Triazines / chemistry*

Substances

  • Polymers
  • Triazines
  • cyanuric acid

Grants and funding

The authors thank Lonza AG for funding this work in the form of a PhD studentship (AOC). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.