Fabrication of Elastic Macroporous Polymers with Enhanced Oil Absorbability and Antiwaxing Performance

Abstract

Porous polymers are of great interest in potential energy storage and environmental remediation applications. However, traditional fabrication methods are either time-consuming or energy-consuming and deteriorate the mechanical strength of polymer materials. In this study, polymerization-induced phase separation was used to realize the template-free fabrication of superflexible macroporous polymers. Since the solvent is also used as a porogen, this method can be widely used to synthesize several porous polymers by carefully choosing the solvent and monomer. Compared to nonstructured polymers, the prepared macroporous polymers exhibited enhanced mechanical strength, superflexibility, multicompressibility, and bending properties. Along with hydrophobicity/oleophilicity and macroporous structures, the as-prepared porous polymers demonstrated controllable oil absorbability and release; furthermore, after infusing with lubrication liquid, these materials can be used as antiwaxing materials. The elastic porous polymers prepared using this simple and universal method show great potential for various applications, including controlled drug release, antiwaxing, and lubrication.

3D printing of reactive macroporous polymers via thiol–ene chemistry and polymerization-induced phase separation

“…1E), which is an advantageous property for many practical applications where flexibility and mechanical stability are important. 17 Mechanical compressibility of the macroporous polymers was tested using cyclic compressive loading-unloading stressstrain with increasing upper limit and constant lower limit (testing was along the printing direction with 10% min À1 loading/unloading rate) (Fig. 2A).…”

Hierarchical Porous Polymers via a Microgel Intermediate: Green Synthesis and Applications toward the Removal of Pollutants

“…In this context, porous polymer (PP) materials are of growing interest, as a result of their potential applications in energy storage and removal of toxic environmental pollutants, such as CO 2 , dyes, iodine, chromates, metals, fluorides, and so forth. − In the last decade, many articles have been published on the synthesis and applications of such porous materials, and most of them consist of nitrogen-rich polymers (mostly polyaromatics) containing functionalities, such as amines, amides, triazine, and so forth. − In a majority of existing reports, a trade-off between the surface area and active functionality was noted and this restricts transportation of various guest species. Furthermore, post-polymer modification of PPs to enhance the surface functionality is also not fruitful, as it minimized the surface area and pore volume of the premodified systems . Therefore, hierarchical synthetic methodologies starting from molecular design to macroscopic network formation are highly recommended to maximize their performance.…”

“…Furthermore, post-polymer modification of PPs to enhance the surface functionality is also not fruitful, as it minimized the surface area and pore volume of the premodified systems. 14 Therefore, hierarchical synthetic methodologies starting from molecular design to macroscopic network formation are highly recommended to maximize their performance. The porous hierarchy within the polymer network enhances the accessi-bility of guest molecules at the microporous (<2 nm) surface by improved diffusion through existing mesopores (2−50 nm) and macropores (>50 nm).…”

Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation in Rubber-Toughened Amine-Cured Epoxy Resins: Tuning Morphology from the Nano- to Macro-scale

“…Polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS), the spontaneous segregation of otherwise miscible components upon an increase in the molecular weight of at least one of the components, has offered a distinct pathway for generating thermoset polymers with well-defined nanostructures and microstructures. Indeed, various morphologies have been produced with the PIPS strategy including co-continuous, − isolated or fused globular structures, − lamellae, − and cylinders , with applications for membranes, − sorbents, , functional coatings, , and UV-cured dental materials. , Owing to their versatile and pre-designed molecular nature, block copolymers are well suited for PIPS in thermosets where the molecular weight and volume fraction of polymer blocks regulate the domain size and morphology of the phase-separated systems. Early examples of block copolymer-driven PIPS employed amphiphilic copolymers blended with epoxy systems to yield highly ordered domains down to tens of nm. ,− However, the lack of a covalent bond connecting the secondary polymer and the thermoset matrix in these early works resulted in the expulsion of the copolymers from the matrix and set a lower bound for the domain size (e.g., above ∼10 nm) .…”

“…Polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS), the spontaneous segregation of otherwise miscible components upon an increase in the molecular weight of at least one of the components, has offered a distinct pathway for generating thermoset polymers with well-defined nanostructures and microstructures. Indeed, various morphologies have been produced with the PIPS strategy including co-continuous, 1−3 isolated or fused globular structures, 4−6 lamellae, 7−9 and cylinders 10,11 with applications for membranes, 12−14 sorbents, 15,16 functional coatings, 17,18 and UV-cured dental materials. 19,20 Owing to their versatile and pre-designed molecular nature, block copolymers are well suited for PIPS in thermosets where the molecular weight and volume fraction of polymer blocks regulate the domain size and morphology of the phase-separated systems.…”