Other Methods for Characterizing Porous Polymer Morphology

Other Methods for Characterizing Porous Polymer Morphology 

Perhaps one obvious technique for evaluating pore structure is electron microscopy, and indeed numerous papers have been pubhshed showing visually attractive scanning electron micrographs (SEM). In fact these studies seldom provide 

In contrast transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can in skilled hands yield detailed quantitative data on pore structure, and can even provide valuable information on the wet state of resins by plunge freezing such samples and microtom-ing on a cold stage [105]. To obtain quantitative information it is necessary to use advanced image analysis methodology which is extremely powerful [106]. Unfortunately the approach is time consuming and costly and can rarely be applied routinely in morphology studies. 

Thermoporometry [107] has also been used in evaluating resin porosity [108] and in effect gives information on the solvent wetted state of resins. The technique exploits the phenomenon that the freezing point of a liquid is depressed when it is confined in pores of small radius. Calorimetric measurements on solvent imbibed resins at increasingly reduced temperatures allows a distribution curve to be generated. This in turn can be related to a pore size distribution. The technique is not routine nor widely practiced and more information is available in reference [17]. 

Small angle X-ray scattering monitoring the distribution of electron density has been used to probe resin morphology [109]. More recently contrast matched small angle neutron scattering has also been employed [110, 111]. These techniques can also be applied to wet resins and tend to probe the very low dimensions of the polymer matrix structure. More studies are needed to identify the real value of these approaches. 

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