Monodisperse Polystyrene Foams via Microfluidics - A Novel Templating Route

We have developed a templating route for the synthesis of monodisperse and highly ordered polystyrene foams. The route is based on the generation of monodisperse templates, namely of foamed emulsions and emulsions, respectively, via microfluidic techniques. The polymerization of the templates leads to polystyrene foams with controllable pore size, pore size distribution and connectivity and thus opens up a new arena for the synthesis of tailor-made polymer foams.