Polymers
Polymer Science has driven many of the discoveries and technologies of the last 50 years, everything from the clothes we wear to the building blocks of the electronic devices and machines we use. They have also become one of the greatest sources of pollution on the planet, with plastics found at the top of mountains and in the bottom of the oceans.
Researchers in RASEI are exploring the development of new plastics, designed around a circular economy model, where they are derived from renewable sources and can easily be recycled or repurposed. These investigations expand beyond the plastics that we use for bottles or food, to the polymers that are used in electronic devices and batteries. Improving the design of these sophisticated polymers improves the performance of electronics and batteries, driving down energy demand, both in their production and their use.