Deep Reinforcement Learning for Inverse Synthetic Polymer Design
M.P.C. van der Werf (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
G. Vogel – Mentor (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics)
J. Weber – Mentor (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics)
Marcel J T Reinders – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics)
Megha Khosla – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Multimedia Computing)
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Abstract
Synthetic polymers are crucial in diverse industries, but current AI-driven design methodologies primarily target linear homopolymers, with limited emphasis on developing customized approaches for copolymers. To address this gap, we introduce a generative model for goal-directed synthetic copolymer design using reinforcement learning. Our model operates in a graph generation environment, facilitating efficient monomer unit design while incorporating domain-specific constraints to ensure high validity rates. In a case study optimizing for Hydrogen Evolution Rate (HER) and synthetic accessibility, our approach showcases the efficacy of reinforcement learning in advancing copolymer design. Furthermore, experimental results underscore the challenges in designing effective scoring functions due to the sparse nature of polymer datasets, emphasizing the need for robust property predictors in polymer design methodologies before integrating more complex generative models into the design process.