Toward Controlling the Surface Morphology of Macroporous Copolymer Particles

Syntheses of macroporous polymer particles under certain conditions produce microbeads with a smooth nonporous "skin" layer. This effect limits the applications of porous microbeads by preventing solute molecules to permeate the dense particle surface and reach particle's porous interior. This paper reports a straightforward method that—without the adjustment of the composition of microbeads—can be used to suppress the formation of the "skin" on the surface of macroporous polymer particles. The approach presented as a solubility parameter−interfacial tension "map" paves the way to the selection of a broader range of porogen solvents and hence better rationalization of the composition of the monomer mixtures used in the synthesis of macroporous particles.