Microstructural characteristics of bijel-templated porous materials

The geometric arrangement of pore features is a critical aspect of three-dimensional (3D) materials design for a diverse set of applications. Transport properties such as diffusivity and conductivity are intimately linked to this pore arrangement, thus, significant effort has been invested into designing processes and systems that offer predictable final morphologies. Minimal surface structures comprising bicontinuous, symmetric phases are predicted to provide optimal transport properties. The bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gel (bijel) is a class of soft matter that forms by kinetically arresting spinodal decomposition phase separation. Driven by the reduction of interfacial energy between phases, bijel morphology develops in a dynamically self-similar fashion with a near-minimal surface (spinodal) interface. Here, bijels were used as template structures to generate carbon and polymer scaffolds, and morphological characterization of distinctive features was carried out on 3D reconstructions of micro-computed tomography (mu CT) data. Specific emphasis is placed on the characterization of size distribution, interfacial curvature, continuity, tortuosity, and self-similarity exhibited by pore networks within these structures. Microstructural attributes are compared to three additional porous media to demonstrate bijel-derived materials as near-minimal surface structures with high transport potential.