PhD Self-assembling polyolefin network materials from polymer waste

Polyolefins play a crucial role in our daily life. They are lightweight, cheap and food contact approved, which makes them materials of choice for – often single-use – packaging applications and other fast moving consumer goods. Consequently, vast and ever-increasing amounts of polyolefin waste are being produced annually. Driven by the environmental awareness concerning the pollution of polymer waste and the carbon footprint of single use plastics, a growing amount of these polyolefins ends up in recycle streams rather than being landfilled or incinerated. However, polyolefins are inherently difficult to recycle. Mechanical recycling has the lowest energy footprint but requires rather pure waste streams and inevitably leads to inferior material properties after processing. Chemical recycling is complicated by the lack of weak linkages in the polyolefin chain.

The PhD Project

In this PhD project we propose a conceptionally novel approach for converting polyolefin waste into high added value materials by producing self-assembling polyolefin network materials, well-recyclable polyolefinic materials with versatile and tunable properties that potentially even outperform existing polyolefins. The idea is based on the finding that polar functional groups in functionalized polyolefins self-assemble into polar domains in the apolar polyolefin matrix, providing significant mechanical strength to the system,[1,2] and an improved adhesion to polar substrates. The broad project scope entails polymer synthesis, material science and application testing.

The PhD candidate working on this project will be embedded in the Chemical Product Technology group within the ENTEG institute, Faculty of Science and Engineering, will work under the supervision of Prof. P. Raffa (Smart and Sustainable Polymeric Products), and Dr. D. Parisi (Rheology of Complex Polymeric and Colloidal Systems), and in collaboration with the company SABIC (Prof. R. Duchateau), and the Gdansk University of Technology (Prof. L. Jasinska-Walc).

Organization

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 27,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

Qualifications

• The candidate needs to possess a MSc degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science or equivalent title.
• A background in polymers chemistry/physics/engineering and/or rheology are preferred.
• The candidate needs to have experience of working in a wet chemistry lab, and be familiar with polymer characterization methods.
• Next to these, experience in polymer synthesis and/or processing is considered a plus.
• Apart from the research project, the candidate is expected to contribute (~10% of total workload) to the teaching and supervision of Bachelor and Master students.

Organisation

Conditions of employment

We offer you, following the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• A salary of € 2,872 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,670 gross per month in the fourth and final year for a full-time working week.
• A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• A full-time position (1.0 FTE). The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

Date of employment: as soon as possible.