Nanoporous Linear Polyethylene from a Block Polymer Precursor

Abstract

Porous polyolefin membranes play an integral role in lithium-ion battery technology as the barrier preventing direct anode and cathode contact. Block polymers containing a sacrificial component have proven to be attractive precursors for nanoporous polymer membranes stemming from their unique ability to self-assemble into mesoscopically organized structures. Selective removal of the sacrificial component can leave a scaffold with well-controlled pore dimensions and porosity. This communication describes the synthesis of block polymers containing polylactide (PLA) as the sacrificial component and perfectly linear polyethylene (LPE) as the matrix phase using a combination of ring-opening polymerizations. Bicontinuous morphologies accessible over a broad composition range allow for ready tailoring of porosity. Removal of the PLA results in semicrystalline LPE with an interpenetrating void space having pore dimensions less than 100 nm. The porosity and domain size dependence on composition was corroborated by nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical robustness of the nanoporous samples was confirmed by tensile testing. The outstanding chemical resistance of the nanoporous LPE samples was demonstrated by treatment with concentrated strong acids over extended periods (approximately 1 day).

Engineering of Micro‐ and Nanostructured Surfaces with Anisotropic Geometries and Properties

“…BCP form a variety of intricate morphologies depending on the number and type of blocks, their relative length and arrangement, and their relative solubility. [ 9 , 10 ] Due to their ability to form nanoscale domains with long range order, BCP assemblies can be used for nanolithography, photonic crystals, [ 69 ] membranes, [ 70 ] and wave guides. [ 71 ] BCP-based lithography is a core technology to reduce the critical dimensions of CMOS devices, as described in the International Technology Roadmap for the Semiconductor Industry (ITRS).…”

Hydrogen Bonding-Mediated Microphase Separation during the Formation of Mesoporous Novolac-Type Phenolic Resin Templated by the Triblock Copolymer, PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO

“…Many large-pores, long-range-ordered mesoporous silicates have been prepared using amphiphilic block copolymers as templates [11,12]. In addition to inorganic/organic assembly of mesoporous silicas, organic/organic self-assembly has also been used to synthesize ordered mesoporous or nanoporous polymeric materials from, for example, phenolic resin [13,14], polyurethane (PU) [15], polystyrene (PS) [16] and polyethylene (PE) [17]. …”

Variable Chain Confinement in Polymers With Nanosized Pores and Its Impact on Instability

“…Because [17] did not examine the morphology and size of voids in their samples, the radius of a void R 0 = 20 nm is taken based on [24]. Though the results are not reported here, we verified that the effects of randomness in the void geometry do not greatly impact the elastic modulus, so we do not explore random void populations throughout this study.…”