Macroporous Cross linked Polymers with Controlled Structure Fabricated via Low Temperature Phase-Separation Photopolymerization

Macroporous polymers are of great interest and are used in diverse fields including filtration, catalysts, tissue engineering, and bioseparation. Great efforts have been invested in the manipulation of macroporous polymers. However, the straightforward fabrication of porous polymers with controlled structures from the corresponding monomers remains challenging. This study proposes a general, simple route for the synthesis of macroporous crosslinked polymers with 2D or 3D shape from the corresponding monomers by low temperature phase-separation photopolymerization with no template and no surfactant or other additives. The generality of this approach makes synthesis possible from any type of monomer that can be photopolymerized, thus offering wide tunability of polymer properties for various applications. We believe that this strategy has great potential to be used widely for the fabrication of macroporous polymer membranes or monoliths in the future.