Fast Fabrication of Porous Amphiphilic Polyamides via Nonconventional Evaporation Induced Phase Separation

In the present work, we report a facile approach forthe fast fabricationof porous films and coatings of long-chain polyamides through a nonconventionalevaporation induced phase separation. Because of its amphiphilic nature,polyamide 12 can be dissolved in the mixture of a high-polarity solventand a low-polarity solvent, while it could not be dissolved in eithersolvent solely. The sequential and fast evaporation of the solventsleads to the formation of porous structures within 1 min. Moreover,we have investigated the dependence of the pore structures on compositionof the solutions, and have demonstrated that our approach can be appliedto other long-chain polycondensates, too. Our findings can provideinsight on the fabrication of porous materials by using amphiphilicpolymers.

Automated summary

In this study, we introduce a simple method for fast fabrication of porous films and coatings of long-chain polyamides through a nonconventional evaporation induced phase separation. The amphiphilic nature of polyamide 12 allows it to be dissolved in a mixture of high-polarity and low-polarity solvents, leading to the formation of porous structures within 1 min through sequential and fast evaporation. We also investigate the dependence of pore structures on the composition of solutions and demonstrate the applicability of our approach to other long-chain polycondensates. Our findings provide valuable insights into the fabrication of porous materials using amphiphilic polymers.