Deep Reinforcement Learning for Inverse Synthetic Polymer Design

Master Thesis (2024)
Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
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Publication Year
2024
Language
English
Graduation Date
08-07-2024
Awarding Institution
Delft University of Technology
Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
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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.

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