Robust Mesoporous Polymers Derived from Cross-Linked Block Polymer Precursors

Abstract

Well-defined mesoporous polymers whose pore size and structure are well controlled, are potentially useful for advanced applications including filtration, separation, and catalysis. Such porous polymers can be derived from microphase-separated block polymer precursors by the selective removal of sacrificial blocks. This chapter focuses on robust cross-linked mesoporous polymers with greatly improved pore stability produced by cross-linking of the matrix block in the precursor. The chapter surveys various approaches for synthesizing cross-linked block polymer precursors, examines mechanisms that can arrest transient morphologies using the competition between cross-linking and ordering kinetics, and discusses how the stability of the resulting mesopore structures can be enhanced by cross-linking.