PhD defence: Polymers as a Blank Canvas: Introducing Polarity via Post-Polymerisation Modification

Plastics are an essential part of modern life, used in everything from food packaging to medical devices and many other renewable energy technologies. Yet their durability comes at a cost: plastic waste persists in the environment for decades, and most plastics are still made from fossil resources. Finding ways to make these materials more functional and sustainable is one of today’s major scientific challenges.

This PhD research shows how subtle chemical changes can give common plastics entirely new properties—without changing how they are originally made. The focus is on widely used plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutadiene and polystyrene, which are strong and stable but chemically “almost inert,” meaning they are difficult to modify, recycle or degrade.

Instead of developing new plastics from scratch, this research introduces a strategy known as post-polymerisation modification, in which the polymer is altered at the molecular level after its creation. Using light, mild chemical reagents, or catalytic systems, small oxygen- and nitrogen-containing groups are added to existing plastic chains. These tiny changes make the materials more reactive and compatible with other substances, improving properties such as adhesion, strength, and functionality.

Beyond improving material performance, the work also opens the door to entirely new applications.