From vascular prosthesis to smart microfluidics: the importance of polymer processing in different applications.

Under the word polymer is grouped a set of very different materials, characterised by the repetition of specific groups, named monomers. From the case of your laptop to the sole of your shoes, the fibers in your jumper and the fiberglass of your 36 m long yacht, synthetic polymers are applied to a wide range of tasks requiring different material properties. But are those properties defined by the chemistry of the material alone? In this talk I will show, through a few experimental examples, how synthesis and processing conditions can affect the final material and how it is possible to tune polymer properties to tackle specific goals.