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Abstract

A new type of polymeric microporous membrane has been synthesized which is distinguished by a highly-branched porespace morphology that is continuous and triply-periodic, and thus very precisely controlled and easily characterized. The membrane consists of a polymeric matrix containing pores of diameter on the order of 10 nm connected into a continuous pore network exhibiting long-range three-dimensional order. This long-range order is evidenced in small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments by Bragg reflections that index to a triply-periodic space group, as well as in electron micrographs that match predictions from a theoretical model of the same space group and lattice parameter. The membrane combines three important features that have not been present simultaneously in any prior art membrane having pore diameters between 2 nm and 1 micron. First, the pores are identical in size and shape to a very high degree, and their size can be controlled in the synthesis. Second, the porespace is characterized by intricate branching and reconnections, with at least three pore throats meeting at a given pore body, this number (the coordination number) being the same for each pore body, and the porespace is isotropic in the cases where the space group is cubic. These two features allow accurately controlled sieving on the basis of particle size and shape, and provide highly accessible and precisely shaped pore bodies and surfaces for other applications such as catalysis, ion exchange, and the preparation of metal microstructures. And third, the membrane has a high porosity (approximately 90%).

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