Emulsion‐induced ordered microporous films using amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide)‐ block ‐poly( n ‐butyl isocyanate) block copolymers

Well‐defined poly(ethylene oxide)‐ block‐ poly( n‐ butyl isocyanate) (PEO‐ block‐ PBIC; AB) diblock copolymers were prepared with trichloropentadienyl titanium (IV) (CpTiCl 3 ) catalyst. Ordered microporous films (hexagonal pattern) were constructed by emulsion micelles of A 110 B 230 diblock copolymer (the subscript indicates the degree of polymerization of each block component) formed from CHCl 3 /H 2 O/tetrahydrofuran (THF) = 100/5/10 (v/v) solution. The addition of THF promoted uniform micelles in immiscible CHCl 3 /H 2 O mixed solvent as well as the effect of phase transfer catalyst. Diblock copolymers formed spherical micelles, consisting of a PEO core and a PBIC corona. At some concentration, interaction between micelles forced a disorder–order transition, resulting in freezing of micelles in some superlattice. Subsequently, the leaving gaps among micelles were filled by PBIC block chains on a corona through the evaporation of organic solvents. At last, water within hydrophilic PEO core was vomited through the film matrix. We also constructed the microporous films using A 110 B 230 diblock copolymer by the current water‐assisted method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008