Fabrication of Durable Honeycomb‐Patterned Films of Poly(ether sulfone)s via Breath Figures

Abstract

Honeycomb-patterned porous fi lms of poly(ether sulfone) (PES) are prepared via breath fi gures (BF), in which dichloromethane (DCM) is used as the solvent, although the solubility of PES in DCM is relatively low. It is found that the use of a DCM suspension of PES as the casting solution and the addition of an amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(styrene-co -maleic acid) partial isobutyl ester (PSME), assist the stabilization of water-droplet arrays during the BF process, contributing to improved pattern regularity, and fi nally leading to the formation of highly ordered honeycomb-patterned fi lms of PES. A synergetic effect of concentration and humidity on the fi lm morphology is discovered and systematically investigated. Moreover, the resultant fi lms possess enhanced resistance to strong acid and base solutions under heating, indicating their promising applications under harsh conditions. and induces water droplets with equal diameter to condense from the humid air and eventually arrange into a honeycomb pattern. Thus, a fi lm with regular honeycomb pores can be obtained after the complete evaporation of solvent and water droplets. Recently, reported BF processes help achieve membranes and microsieves with perforated-pores and highly effi cient separation behaviors by applying special substrates [ 9 ] or pumping out excess casting solution. [ 12 ] Taking advantage of the self-assembly behavior in the BF process or post surface modifi cation, micro-patterning of proteins, [13][14][15] quantum dots, [ 16 ] nanoparticles, [ 16 ] graphene, [ 17 ] and metal oxides [ 18 ] was realized to generate advanced functional fi lms. As a replica template, the honeycomb fi lm also allows for easy transfer of its special morphology to other materials. [19][20][21] Accompanied by these remarkable progresses, the honeycomb pattern prepared by the BF strategy is strongly desired to have excellent long-term durability for extending the use of fi lms in practical applications with less limitation.The stability of honeycomb-patterned fi lms in harsh environments such as elevated temperature and acid/ base solutions is a crucial issue that has to be addressed effi ciently, so that the fi lms will remain in satisfactory

Thin film composite membranes based on a polymer of intrinsic microporosity derived from Tröger's base: A combined experimental and computational investigation of the role of residual casting solvent

“…SEM photomicrographs revealed micropores on the surface that did not grow in the coating layer. Similar arrays were described in the case of films prepared from the same solvent (DCM) solutions of polystyrene [61] or PES [62]. In that cases, water droplets condensed from water vapour were recognised as template for pore formation.…”

Supramolecular assembly of bent dinuclear amphiphilic alkynylplatinum(ii) terpyridine complexes: diverse nanostructures through subtle tuning of the mode of molecular stacking

“…With reference to the literature and our previous work, the porous network is likely formed by breath gure. [35][36][37]42 In the dichloromethane solution of the amphiphilic dinuclear complex, aggregation exists with the aid of Pt/Pt and p-p stacking interactions. Upon drop-casting the dichloromethane solution of the already aggregated amphiphilic dinuclear complex onto the TEM grid, the volatile dichloromethane solvent provides a cold surface for the condensation of water droplets.…”

“…One of the approaches to fabricating regular porous networks is by breath gure, 35 in which water droplets condense onto a substrate containing a solution capable of stabilizing the water droplets and facilitate the formation of an array of pores before evaporating. 36,37 For successful preparation of the porous network, the humidity should be high enough for the water droplets to condense onto the surface of the substrate, and volatile solvents, such as carbon disulde, chloroform, dichloromethane, etc. should be utilized such that they evaporate easily and thereby providing a cold surface for condensation of the water droplets.…”

Intelligent Approach to Solvent Substitution: The Identification of a New Class of Levoglucosenone Derivatives

“…Similarly,m any dipolar aprotic amides, which include NMP and N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF),are reprotoxic. These are solvents that are used widely, for example, for polymer processing, [24] and are major targets for substitution, representative of the situation for halogenated solvents and dipolara protics generally.A ll the solventc andidates within 3MPa 1 = 2 of DCMo rN MP in terms of the 3D Hansens pace were identified. Findingr eplacements for the latterisnot necessary from ag reen chemistry perspective.…”

“…[23] Twosolvents, DCM and NMP,were picked as appropriate targets for substitution. These are solvents that are used widely, for example, for polymer processing, [24] and are major targets for substitution, representative of the situation for halogenated solvents and dipolara protics generally.A ll the solventc andidates within 3MPa (Figures 2a nd 3). DCM and NMP replacements have been prioritizedb ecause fewer solventc andidates could be matched to alternative targets.…”