Preparation of Polymer Nanofiber Networks through Newly Developed Nanoscale Phase Separation Mechanism

各种介孔高分子材料已被开发出来，它们被认为是先进分离材料的潜在候选者。然而，从低成本、大规模生产的材料中开发经济上可行且耐用的分离材料仍然是一项挑战。在这里，我们研究了基于微相分离技术从冷冻聚合物溶液中制备普通聚合物的纳米纤维网络结构。所得的聚合物纳米纤维网络具有较大的自由表面积和介孔。这些介孔聚合物材料能够快速吸附和解吸大量的二氧化碳，也能够冷凝有机蒸汽。此外，由工程塑料制成的纳米纤维对水溶液中的有机溶剂表现出惊人的高吸附性和温度依赖性。

Various mesoporous polymeric materials have been developed and they are considered as potential candidates for advanced separation materials. It is still challenging, however, to develop economically viable and durable separation materials from low-cost, mass-produced materials. Here we investigated the fabrication of a nanofibrous network structure from common polymers, based on a microphase separation technique from frozen polymer solutions. The resulting polymer nanofiber networks exhibit large free surface areas as well as mesopores. These mesoporous polymer materials are able to rapidly adsorb and desorb a large amount of carbon dioxide and are also capable of condensing organic vapors. Furthermore, the nanofibers made of engineering plastics exhibit surprisingly high, temperature-dependent adsorption of organic solvents from aqueous solution.