Machine learning simulations reveal how plastic turns into hard carbon

Researchers at the University of Oxford's Department of Chemistry used machine learning simulations to trace how a common polymer transforms into hard carbon, revealing the atomic-scale processes behind its disordered structure. The study was published in Chemical Science.

• The study was published in Chemical Science
• The method relies on machine-learning atomistic simulations
• The subject is a common polymer converting into hard carbon
• The work explains how the material's disordered structure forms