Our latest collaborative work lead by the Sosso Group has been published in Nature Communications. We have a long standing interesting in how synthetic polymers can be used to control ice crystal growth. Even after several years of study, the most active polymer for ice recrystallisation inhibition (IRI) is still PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) and exactly how it is so effective was not clear. In recent years it has become clear the PVA hydrogen bonds to ice, and previous studies suggest it can form a 'ladder' like lattice match onto the ice. In this work, atomistic simulations were ran which show that the size of the PVA coil (as polymers are not fully stretched our molecules - 'cooked not raw spaghetti') was a crucial descriptor of activity. It was seen that short PVA chains (which have less IRI activity) actually bind the ice as well as longer PVA chains (which are more active) but they cannot stop ice overgrowing it so well. These results will help us design new more active materials whilst adding to our fundamental understanding of these interfaces.

Read the paper here

he atomisic details of the ice recrystallisation inhibition activity of PVA