3D Printable and Sub‐Micrometer Porous Polymeric Monoliths with Shape Reconfiguration Ability by Miniemulsion Templating

Abstract

AbstractPorous monoliths prepared by high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating have received various attentions in the fields of catalysis, separation, and tissue engineering. However, the application of the monoliths from HIPE is limited by their poor mechanical performance and the difficulty of fabricating hierarchically porous structures. Additive manufacturing is an emerging technique that achieves high design freedom by depositing materials layer‐by‐layer. This work designs medium internal phase emulsion (MIPE) ink with the concept of miniemulsion to prepare 3D printable porous polymeric monoliths with sub‐micrometer pores. High shear energy is used to reduce the droplet size of the internal phase and jam the emulsion ink. The jammed MIPE ink shows prominent shear‐thinning behavior and appropriate elastic modulus for direct ink writing (DIW). After printing, the external phase composed of stearyl acrylate and hexanediol diacrylate can be cured by photopolymerization to produce poly(MIPE) with interconnected pores in the size of several hundred nanometers. The printed poly(MIPE) demonstrates high mechanical strength and can be reprogrammed into complex geometries difficult for the common DIW processes. The proposed technique provides a new route to fabricate hierarchically porous monoliths with a drastic change of pore dimension, high mechanical strength, and tunable shape reconfiguration.