Unexpected Behavior of 1-Chlorodecane as a Novel Porogen in the Preparation of High-Porosity Poly(divinylbenzene) Microspheres

Abstract

Poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) microspheres with high specific surface area and porosity were prepared via suspension polymerization in the presence of porogens. The effect of porogen type and DVB content on specific surface area and porosity was investigated. The results showed a trend that, as the solubility parameter of porogen increased, the specific surface area of PDVB microspheres increased at the beginning, then fell, while the average pore sizes underwent first a decline and then a rise. As predicted from previous knowledge about the influence of different porogens, toluene yielded highly microporous microspheres with large specific surface area (700.8 m2/g). However, higher specific surface area (720 m2/g) and porosity (68%) were achieved by using 1-chlorodecane as a novel porogen, which provides a feasible route to the preparation of PDVB microspheres with controllable nanopore structure and high porosity.