Formation of the porous structure during the polymerization ofmeta-divinylbenzene andpara-divinylbenzene with toluene and 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) as porogens

Macroporous polymers of pure meta-divinylbenzene (meta-DVB) and pure para-divinylbenzene (para-DVB) have been prepared in the presence of toluene and 2-EHA as pore forming agents. The formation of the pore structure has been studied during the polymerization by pore-size distribution measurements, together with determination of the specific surface area from nitrogen sorption isotherms using the BET treatment. In addition, the morphology and texture have been characterized by SEM during the polymerization process. Large differences in the pore-size distribution among all the polymer samples are found. The polymers prepared in toluene as porogen have a pore-size distribution, which mainly consists of small pores, while large pores appear with 2-EHA as porogen. In the presence of 2-EHA, a major change in the pore-size distribution is also observed when the monomer is shifted from para-DVB to meta-DVB, leading to a bimodal distribution. The texture characterization by SEM shows details and discriminates the samples in consistency with what may be expected from pore-size distribution measurements. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3973–3990, 1999