Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present a generative, multiobjective optimization method for polymer chemistry. By leveraging monomer-level properties that are correlated with polymer properties, we design step-growth polymers with targeted glass transition temperatures ( T g ), band gaps ( E g ), and Flory–Huggins interaction parameters with water (χ water ) across a broad chemical space. Generative design is accomplished using a variational autoencoder integrated with linear property prediction heads. Linear organization of the latent space enables the identification of a single latent vector to steer the simultaneous optimization of multiple polymer property objectives. Subsequent Bayesian optimization within the latent space allows further enhancement of T g, E g, and χ water relative to a reference polymer chemistry. We then apply the generative model to design per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-based polymers with reduced fluorine content but comparable physical properties. Overall, this work establishes a generative, multiobjective approach for navigating early stage polymer design, prior to experimental validation or computationally expensive simulations.
Source: Macromolecules
Institutions: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Princeton University
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: 3M
OpenAlex ID: W7162988720