Macroporous graphene oxide-polymer composite prepared through pickering high internal phase emulsions

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising nanomaterial for creating advanced porous structures.
• Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) offer a versatile templating method for porous materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for synthesizing macroporous graphene-based materials.
• To investigate the use of CTAB-modified GO as a stabilizer for Pickering HIPEs.
• To characterize the resulting porous polymer and graphene structures.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of CTAB-modified GO.
• Stabilization of water-in-oil (W/O) Pickering HIPEs using modified GO.
• Polymerization within the HIPE template.
• Calcination to remove polymer substrate and obtain macroporous chemically modified graphene (CMG).

Main Results:

• CTAB-modified GO effectively stabilized W/O Pickering HIPEs at low concentrations (0.2 mg mL⁻¹).
• Close-cell morphology porous polymers were obtained, with tunable void size.
• Macroporous CMG monoliths with a high specific surface area (approx. 490 m² g⁻¹) were successfully synthesized.
• Micropores were observed in CMGs, potentially due to CTAB decomposition.

Conclusions:

• CTAB-modified GO is an efficient stabilizer for Pickering HIPEs, enabling the synthesis of macroporous polymer-graphene oxide composites.
• The calcination process yields high-surface-area macroporous chemically modified graphene monoliths.
• This method provides a scalable route to advanced graphene-based porous materials.