PolyCon - A facility for chemical and mechanical µ-imaging of Polymers and characterization of their ageing processes in the context of cultural heritage, resources and environmental Conservation and engineering

• Subject Area: Polymer Materials ; Analytical Chemistry ; Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533309803

Synthetic polymers were first created by modification of natural polymers, subsequently by polymerising molecules gained from fossil fuels, and most recently through the development of advanced materials for targeted applications. This relatively young industry has already had a remarkable impact in society. On the one hand artefacts containing synthetic polymers are a significant part of technology, design, textile, modern and contemporary art museum collections. On the other hand, due to overproduction and inadequate recycling they have also found themselves as an overwhelming burden in the environment. Behind PolyCon is an interdisciplinary team with members from four faculties. Recognising the overlap in research objectives and complementarity in expertise and infrastructure, a new research group, entitled "Material Analysis for Cultural Heritage, Environment and Resources" was established in 2022, on initiative of members of the current consortium (Profs. Katrakova-Krüger, Ferreira, Waentig and Wagner). Prof. Hartl and Prof. Wolf bring to the consortium expertise in synthetic materials in engineering and AI methods for multivariate nonlinear data analysis. Material characterization to analyze ageing behavior is not only important in the preservation of cultural heritage, but also to identify limiting factors in the recycling of polymer materials due to changes in relevant material properties and/or accumulation of contaminants along the circular value chains and is crucial in the evaluation of new materials in engineering. The chemical and mechanical µ-imaging, possible with the proposed equipment, allow investigations into ageing mechanisms that go beyond the state of the art. PolyCon is a platform of interdisciplinary collaboration and a training initiative for young researchers. Important laboratory infrastructure and staff expertise already exist at the two sites (chemical imaging at Campus Südstadt and mechanical imaging at Campus Gummersbach) where teams of expert users will be responsible for the running of the platform. Within the frame of summer school program will provide training for users. The advanced sessions, with participation of external guests and members of other research facilities of the TH Köln, will be an opportunity to share results, troubleshoot problems and develop new collaborative ideas. Due to the complex multivariate nature of the data, Machine Learning (ML) and AI methods will be adapted and trained to automatically analyze the large data sets and correlate the information obtained (sample metadata with FTIR imaging, elemental mapping and mechanical property mapping). In all its aspects, this initiative will promote innovative interdisciplinary research and increase competitiveness of the TH Köln as a research university of applied sciences.

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: FTIR imaging ; Ion milling ; Nanoindenter x-y table
• Instrumentation Group: 2930 Härteprüfmaschinen, Reibungs- und Verschleiß-Prüfmaschinen ; 5140 Hilfsgeräte und Zubehör für Elektronenmikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Technische Hochschule Köln
• Leader: Professorin Dr. Ester Simoes B Ferreira, Ph.D.
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr.-Ing. Danka Katrakova-Krüger