High-Temperature Nanoporous Ceramic Monolith Prepared from a Polymeric Bicontinuous Microemulsion Template

Nanoporous ceramic with a unique pore structure was derived from an all-hydrocarbon polymeric bicontinuous microemulsion (B mu E). The B mu E was designed to allow facile removal of one phase, resulting in a nanoporous polymer monolith with B mu E-like structure. The pores were fitted with a commercially available, polymeric precursor to nonoxide, Si-based ceramics. Pyrolysis resulted in a monolith of nanoporous ceramic, stable to at least 1000 degrees C, with a B mu E-like pore structure. The pore structure is disordered and 3-D continuous. Microscopy and gas sorption measurements suggest a well-defined pore size distribution spanning roughly 60-100 nm, sizes previously unattainable through related techniques.