Effect of Soxhlet Extraction and Surfactant System onMorphology and Properties of Poly(DVB)PolyHIPE

摘要

Poly(Divinylbenzene)PolyHIPE (Poly(DVB)PolyHIPE) was successfully pre-pared by using two different systems of three-component surfactants (S2oM andS8oM) and toluene as porogenic solvent. Phase morphology, mechanical propertiesand surface area measurements of the obtained Poly(DVB)Poly RIPE were investi-gated. After polymerization of continuous phase followed by extraction process, theporous materials (open cellular structure with interconnections) were obtained. Thecell size and surface area were found to be improved: this is due to the ability ofporogenic solvent and mixture of the surfactants to prevent the Ostwald ripening(coalescence) of the emulsion droplet system. Moreover, the surface area andmechanical properties of the resulting materials were found to be depended onthe Soxhlet extraction time. It was demonstrated that the usage of Soxhlet extractiontechnique for Poly(DVB)PolyHIPE improved surface area of the obtained materials by107% as compared with the unextracted PolyHIPE. However, when the extraction timewas longer than 12 hours, the properties of the obtained materials became poor. Itwas concluded that the suitable Soxhlet extraction time for Poly(DVB)PolyHIPE was6-12 hours and at this condition, high surface area with the highest mechanicalproperties of the porous material were obtained.