Bianco, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-6125-6339, Burg, S.L., Parnell, A.J. orcid.org/0000-0001-8606-8644 et al. (7 more authors) (2017) Control of the porous structure of polystyrene particles obtained by nonsolvent induced phase separation. Langmuir, 33 (46). pp. 13303-13314. ISSN 0743-7463
Abstract
Porous polystyrene microspheres were produced by a process of nonsolvent induced phase separation (NIPS) from ternary polymer-solvent-nonsolvent (polystyrene-toluene-ethanol) systems and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. This study provides evidence for a link between the structural morphology of the porous polystyrene particles and the polystyrene concentration in the initial solutions. A reciprocal relationship between pore diameter and polymer concentration was observed for the systems with the polymer amount below the critical chain overlap concentration, C*. Above C*, this relationship breaks down. The reciprocal relationship between porosity and polymer concentration can be used to facilitate the fine control of the void size. We demonstrate that the observed reciprocal relationship between pore diameter and polymer concentration correlates well with the relative amount of nonsolvent present in the system at the onset of the phase separation process. The pore size can be reduced and, consequently, the pore surface area can be increased either by reducing the polymer concentration in the initial solution or by decreasing the polymer molecular weight in the sample composition.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 American Chemical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Langmuir. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Aromatic compounds; Hydrocarbons; Phase separation; Polymer solutions; Polymers |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number INNOVATE UK (TSB) 33692-239251-101716 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 Nov 2017 11:00 |
Last Modified: | 13 Dec 2023 14:12 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02802 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:123865 |