Synthesis of nanoporous organic/inorganic hybrid materials with adjustable pore size

• Published in: Colloid and polymer science Vol. 296; no. 11; pp. 1805 - 1816
• Main Authors: Qawasmi, Y., Atanasova, P., Jahnke, T., Burghard, Z., Müller, A., Grassberger, L., Strey, R., Bill, J., Sottmann, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-11-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Food Science; Morphology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Original Contribution; Physical Chemistry; Plastic foam; Polymer Sciences; Polystyrene resins; Pore size; Porosity; Porous materials; Scanning electron microscopy; Soft and Granular Matter; Synthesis; Yield stress; Zinc acetate; Zinc oxide; Supercritical carbon dioxide; Mineralization; Hard template; Polystyrene nanofoams; Organic/inorganic hybrid materials
• ISSN: 0303-402X; 1435-1536
• DOI: 10.1007/s00396-018-4402-z

Polystyrene (PS) nanofoams, prepared following the
nanofoams continuity inversion of dispersions
(NF-CID) principle, were utilized for the synthesis of nanoporous organic/inorganic hybrid materials. The pore size and morphology of the PS foams were found to depend on the NF-CID parameters: temperature, exposure time, and the expansion process. With this knowledge, PS foams with a pore size of 1 μm were mineralized with ZnO from a methanol precursor solution comprising zinc acetate dihydrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) was used to characterize both the pure PS nanofoam and the hybrid material. The formation of a ZnO layer on the pore walls of the polymer foams was confirmed, while the general structure of the foam was retained. Uniaxial compression measurements revealed larger values of the
E
modulus and the yield stress for the porous PS/ZnO hybrid material compared to the pure polymer foam.
Graphical abstract
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