Tailoring pore distribution in polymer films via evaporation induced phase separation

By considering a mixture of poly(methyl methacrylate)-tetrahydrofuran-water (PMMA-THF-H₂O), we report an experimental approach to tune the distribution of pores in polymer films formed via evaporation induced phase separation (EIPS). We show that the drying induced composition and microstructural changes that occur due to the evaporation of the solvent (THF) and the nonsolvent (H₂O) delineate the ultimate polymer film morphology. The temporal evolution of the microstructure, the phase behavior and the change in the composition of the PMMA-THF-H₂O mixture at air-solution (top surface) and solution-substrate (bottom surface) interfaces is monitored to provide insights into the origin of the pore distribution in the final polymer films. The effects of various parameters such as nonsolvent and polymer concentration in the casting solution, casting solution thickness, relative humidity and temperature on the final film morphology are investigated to correlate how the composition path (CP) change under various conditions ultimately dictates the film morphology. We show that depending on the change in the composition of the polymer solution (evolution of CP) and the water/PMMA ratio at the time of phase separation, the morphology of the final film formed varies as - (1) non porous i.e., dense film (2) a film with pores only at the bottom surface (3) an asymmetric film i.e., films with a top dense layer (non-porous) supported by porous sub-layers (4) a porous film with uniform pores distributed across the entire film thickness and (5) a film with pores only at the top surface. In addition, we show that the morphology of the PMMA film can also be tuned by varying the composition of low and high molecular weight PMMA in the casting solution. These porous PMMA structures, being biocompatible, are useful for applications in cell culture, drug delivery and wound dressing.