To explore a clear formation mechanism of a three-dimensional (3D) bicontinuous skeleton and control the structure of an epoxy-based monolith, we have prepared the monolith using a mixture of good and poor solvents. The influences of reaction and phase separation parameters, such as molecular weights and content of porogenic poor solvents, porogenic good solvent concentration, equivalent ratio of epoxy group to amine and reaction temperature on the final morphology are systematically studied by monitoring the reaction process with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and observing the cloud points (CP). Depending on the above parameters, the resultant morphology can be varied ranging from closed pore structure to globules aggregated structure, which was controlled by the competitive kinetics between the domain coarsening and the structure freezing. The optimized monoliths with uniform and controllable pores have great potential for application in chromatographic separation, membrane filters, and membrane emulsification.

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Uniform small-sized (<10 µm) Konjac glucomanna (KGM) microspheres have great application prospects in bio-separation, drug delivery and controlled release. Premix membrane emulsification is an effective method to prepare uniform small-sized KGM microspheres. However, since KGM solution bears strong alkalinity, it requires the membrane to have a hydrophobic surface resistant to alkali. In this study, uniform small-sized KGM microspheres were prepared with epoxy-based polymer membrane (EP) we developed by premix membrane emulsification. It was found that emulsion coalescence and flocculation occurred frequently due to the high interface energy and sedimentation velocity of KGM emulsions. Emulsion stability had a significant influence on the uniformity and dispersity of the final KGM microspheres. To improve the stability of the emulsions, the effects of the concentration of the emulsifier, the viscosity of the KGM solution, the oil phase composition and the feeding method of epoxy chloropropane (EC) on the preparation results were studied. Under optimal preparation conditions (emulsifier 5 wt % PO-5s, KGM III (145.6 mPa¨s), weight ratio of liquid paraffin (LP) to petroleum ether (PE) 11:1), uniform and stable KGM emulsions (d = 7.47 µm, CV = 15.35%) were obtained and crosslinked without emulsion-instable phenomena.