Robust Microsieves with Excellent Solvent Resistance: Cross-Linkage of Perforated Polymer Films with Honeycomb Structure

Abstract

Polymeric microsieves with uniform and tunable pores were fabricated with the breath-figure method and sequent vulcanization procedure using commercially available block copolymer polystyrene-b-polyisoprene-b-polystyrene. Uniform pore size and small film thickness endow the microsieves with high size selectivity and low operation pressure, while the crosslinked chemical structure gives them good mechanical properties and excellent chemical and thermal stability. These microsieves are able to separate particles in various media, including corrosive solvents, hot water, and organic solvents. The process reported in this communication is a simple and inexpensive method for the preparation of high-performance microsieves.

Breath Figure: A Nature-Inspired Preparation Method for Ordered Porous Films

“…255 (c−f) SEM images of the typical BFA film with perforated pores prepared on an ice surface (c, d) 409 and glass substrate (e, f). 255 …”

“…255 Due to the cross-linked chemical structure, this type of microsieve was freestanding and resistant to a variety of polar organic solvents and acidic, basic, and hot water (Figure 52a,b). The pores on SIS BFA films were highly ordered and tunable, with sizes ranging from 1 to 7 μm.…”

Breath Figures: Fabrication of Honeycomb Porous Films Induced by Marangoni Instabilities

“…Block copolymer selfassembly occurring simultaneously with both solvent evaporation and water condensation promotes the formation of highly structured hexagonal pattern of pores showing iridescence properties [111,122]. Other examples of honeycomb films based on coil-coil [123,124] or rod-coil [125][126][127][128] block copolymers were reported without focusing on the ability of the block copolymers to self-assemble into nanostructures. Well-organized honeycomb films were prepared from star polymers [88,129,130], miktoarm star polymer [131], core cross-linked star polymers [79,95,132,133], comb-like polymers [134], hyperbranched polymers [98], or dendritic copolymers [135].…”

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

“…[ 51 ] Few researches investigated the resistance to acid and base solutions, and the treatment in the existing literature was proceeded at room temperature. [ 12 ] The high resistance of fi lms to strong acid and base solutions at elevated temperatures is signifi cant in some harsh condition applications.…”

“…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.…”