Composition Gradient High-Throughput Polymer Libraries Enabled by Passive Mixing and Elevated Temperature

High-throughput   experimentation   (HTE)   methods   are   key   to enabling  informatics-driven  workflows  to  accelerate  discovery  of high-performance  multicomponent  materials.  Here,  we  designed  a solution coating system able to operate at temperatures over 110 °C to deposit composition gradient polymer libraries. The methodology provides  an  avenue  for  efficiently screening  multiparameter  spaces of a wide range of materials relevant to today’s applications.

The   system   is   equipped   with   a   custom,   solvent-resistant, metallic  passive  mixer  module  for  high-temperature  mixing  of polymer solutions. •Residence  time  distribution  (RTD)  models  were  generated  and tested using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) – poly(styrene) (PS) blends   for   prediction   of   coating   conditions   necessary   to generate composition gradient films. •High temperature  gradient film coating was demonstrated using poly(propylene) (PP) and poly(styrene) (PS) blends.

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