Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-c9gpj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T16:26:31.012Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Tailoring the Pore Size of Hypercrosslinked Polymer Foams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

W. P. Steckle Jr
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, MST-7, MS E-549, Los Alamos, NM 87455
M. A. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Current address: Chemdal Corporation, 1530 E. Dundee Rd., Suite 350, Palatine, IL 60067
P. G. Apen
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, MST-7, MS E-549, Los Alamos, NM 87455
Get access

Abstract

Organic analogues to inorganic zeolites would be a significant step forward in engineered porous materials and would provide advantages in range, selectivity, tailorability and processing. Rigid molecular foams or “organic zeolites” would not be crystalline materials and could be tailored over a broader range of pore sizes and volumes. A novel process for preparing hypercrosslinked polymeric foams has been developed via a Friedel-Crafts polycondensation reaction. A series of rigid hypercrosslinked foams have been prepared using simple rigid polyaromatic hydrocarbons including benzene, biphenyl, m-terphenyl, diphenylmethane, and polystyrene, with p-dichloroxylene (DCX) or divinylbenzene (DVB) as the crosslinking agent. Transparent gels are formed suggesting a very small pore size. After drying the foams are robust and rigid. Densities of the resulting foams can range from 0.15g/cc to 0.75g/cc. Nitrogen adsorption studies have shown that by judiciously selecting monomers and crosslinking agent along with the level of crosslinking and the cure time of the resulting gel, the pore size, pore size distribution, and the total surface area of the foam can be tailored. Surface areas range from 160 to 1,200 m2/g with pore sizes ranging from 6Å to 2,000Å. Further evidence of the uniformity of the foams and their pore sizes has been confirmed by high resolution TEM.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Grassie, N. and Gilks, J., J. Polym. Sci: Polym. Chem. 11, 1531 (1973).Google Scholar
2. Davankov, V.A., Rogoshin, S. V., and Tsyurupa, M. P., US Pat. 3729457 (1969).Google Scholar
3. Davankov, V. A., Rogoshin, S. V., and Tsyurupa, M. P., J. Polym. Sci. 47, 95 (1974).Google Scholar
4. Grassie, N. and Meldrum, I. G., Euro. Polym. J., 4, p. 571 (1968).Google Scholar
5. Patel, G. R., Amin, P. T., , P. T., and Patel, S. R., J. Macromol. Sci. - Chem, A18(6), 939 (1982).Google Scholar
6. Brunauer, S., Emmett, P. H., and Teller, E., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 60, 309 (1938).Google Scholar
7. Horvath, G. and Kawazoe, K., J. Chem. Eng. Japan 16(6), 470 (1983).Google Scholar
8. Barrett, E. P., Joyner, L. S., and Halenda, P. P., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 73, 373 (1951).Google Scholar
9. Olivier, J. P., Conklin, W. B., and Szombathely, M. V., Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal. 87, 81 (1994).Google Scholar
10. Joseph, R., Ford, W. T., and Davankov, V. A., Polym. Matls. Sci. and Eng. Proceedings, 74, 98 (1996).Google Scholar