Rational Design of Pore Parameters in Monodisperse Porous Poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) Particles Based on Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Monodisperse porous poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co–ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) particles are widely applied in different fields, as their pore properties can be influenced and functionalization of the epoxy group is versatile. However, the adjustment of parameters which control morphology and pore properties such as pore volume, pore size and specific surface area is scarcely available. In this work, the effects of the process factors monomer:porogen ratio, GMA:EDMA ratio and composition of the porogen mixture on the response variables pore volume, pore size and specific surface area are investigated using a face centered central composite design. Non-linear effects of the process factors and second order interaction effects between them were identified. Despite the complex interplay of the process factors, targeted control of the pore properties was possible. For each response a response surface model was derived with high predictive power (all R2predicted > 0.85). All models were tested by four external validation experiments and their validity and predictive power was demonstrated.

Monodisperse Porous Silica/Polymer Nanocomposite Microspheres with Tunable Silica Loading, Morphology and Porosity

“…The preparation of micron-sized porous hybrid beads (HBs) with a tunable ratio of organic components to silica and morphological properties was systematically investigated using response surface methodology (RSM) ( Figure 1 ). The organic porous p (GMA- co -EDMA) template was prepared by seeded swelling polymerization (see Appendix A ) [ 17 ]. Tetra ethylene pentamine (TEPA) was covalently bound to the porous polymer surface via ring opening reactions of the prevalent epoxy groups [ 44 , 45 ].…”

“…The hybrid microspheres were synthesized using a polymeric hard template. The porous p (GMA- co -EDMA) particles were synthesized according to the procedure described previously [ 17 ], with a scale-up. Further information is given in Appendix A .…”

“…A good effective accessibility of the porous material for diffusion controlled processes, such as separation processes or catalysis, is achieved by mesopores and/or macropores [ 16 ]. The properties of porous poly (glycidyl methacrylate- co -ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) ( p (GMA- co -EDMA)) particles in the micron scale are specifically adjustable [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], which makes them an adaptable polymer matrix with a broad pore size distribution.…”

“…Response surface methodology (RSM) provides a statistical and systematic approach for the observation and quantification of not only linear but also non-linear behavior. Moreover, possible synergistic interactions between process factors are identified and provide detailed causal models for multiple process factors [ 17 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. This approach has been used to study a wide range of chemical processes [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ] and has also been successfully applied for the preparation of SNPs [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

Sol–Gel-Controlled Size and Morphology of Mesoporous Silica Microspheres Using Hard Templates

“…The introduction of meso-/macropores allows a good effective accessibility of the porous material for diffusion-controlled processes . Templating methods have been widely applied to prepare porous silica materials with tunable size and pore characteristics. − While soft templates are successfully used to prepare nanometer-sized silica particles, ,, hard templates are the choice to synthesize micrometer-sized mesoporous silica spheres (MPSMs). , This is because hard templates such as poly­(glycidyl methacrylate- co -ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) particles ( p (GMA- co -EDMA)) ,− are usually formative, i.e., determining the three-dimensional morphology. ,, Template-assisted methods for the preparation of MPSMs consist usually of three sequential steps: − (a) synthesis of the formative template, , (b) synthesis and/or incorporation of silica into the template, , and (c) subsequent removal of the template , (Figure ).…”