Olly Johnson

Self Driving Laboratories for Sustainable Material Synthesis

The project:

The project combines flow chemistry with machine learning–guided experimental design, enabling the rapid synthesis, screening, and optimisation of polymers engineered to degrade into harmless by-products under environmental conditions. Continuous flow systems will be developed that offer precise control over reaction parameters and facilitate high-throughput screening. Furthermore, Bayesian optimisation and data-driven modelling will be used to steer experimentation towards the most promising polymer chemistries.

Beyond material development, the project places equal emphasis on evaluating the real-world sustainability and practicality of these polymers. This involves exploring accelerated biodegradation pathways, which can provide key insights into their fate in the environment. These metrics will eventually be used to inform algorithms that optimise the materials discovery and development process. There is significant potential that such technologies can contribute to solving the plastic pollution problem; however, it will be important to truly appreciate all the factors required for a truly valuable solution. While the materials developed during the project may not be the direct solution, the fundamental understanding gained along the way will be important, particularly if parallel technologies can be integrated to work towards effective solutions.

Olly is a PhD researcher based in the Department of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering, supervised by Prof. Nicholas Warren.