Emulsion templating has been known as a technique for creating macroporous polymers for over 50 years, however mainstream commercialisation of emulsion templated macroporous polymers, such as polyHIPEs, has yet to be achieved. Despite this, the number of patents pertaining to their use has continue to rise in recent years. Advantages of emulsion templated macroporous polymers include significant permeability, easy control of porosity and ease of functionalisation. Yet little research has been carried out on the effect of polyHIPE structure on the fluids being passing through it; this is important if polyHIPEs are to find applications such as chemical reactors. In order to assess the potential of polyHIPEs for micromixing of fluids, we synthesised model poly(styrene-co-DVB)HIPEs. It was found that control of pore size (as templated by droplets of the dispersed phase of an emulsion) could be controlled accurately by the energy input during emulsification prior to polymerisation. To quantify the extent of micromixing we used a system of competitive reactions. Using this method we observed that the smaller the interconnecting pore throats in the polyHIPE structure, the more effective the micromixing due to the increased flow division within the polyHIPE monolith. Naturally decreasing the pore throat size came at the expense of permeability. As a practical demonstration for effective mixing of immiscible liquids in polyHIPEs we show that it possible to extract caffeine from water with ethyl acetate.In conclusion, effective mixing in polyHIPEs is possible at low flowrates (1 mlmin-1) and presents an opportunity for functionalised polyHIPEs with a higher surface area as compared to static mixers to be used both for mixing and reaction supports.

Polymerized (high internal phase emulsion) mixers

248th National Meeting (2014)

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