Microporous polymer foams for biomaterials
A variety of microcellular foams were prepared for use in the fabrication of targets for inertial confinement fusion and pulsed driven x-ray lasers. The process consists of three steps. First a polymer and solvent are heated above their critical temperature to achieve a homogenous polymer solution. Next, the solution is quenched in a controlled fashion, usually within a mold. Quenching results in the formation of bi-continuous phases: a polymer-rich phase and a solvent-rich phase. Once phase separation has occurred, the solution can be frozen or alternatively with certain polymers the solution may form a stable gel. In the final step, the solvent is removed by sublimation of the frozen solvent or by liquid extraction of a resulting gel leaving behind a microcellular polymer foam. By controlling the phase separation during the quench, the foam morphology and pore size can be varied. 8 refs., 4 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 7127509
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-88-1121C; CONF-880912-5; ON: DE88010578
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 196. American Chemical Society national meeting, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 25 Sep 1988; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
FOAMS
FABRICATION
POLYURETHANES
POROSITY
GELS
HEAT TREATMENTS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POLYMERS
QUENCHING
REMOVAL
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVENTS
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
MATERIALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLASTICS
POLYAMIDES
SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
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