Fabrication and Morphology of Spongelike Polymer Material Based on Cross-Linked Sulfonated Polystyrene Particles

A novel spongelike polymer material has been fabricated by γ-ray induced polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) in an emulsion containing cross-linked sulfonated polystyrene (CSP) particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal that the spongelike structure is made up of interlinked nanosized PMMA particles with micrometer-sized CSP-PMMA particles embedded inside. The nitrogen adsorption isotherm discloses that the spongelike material has a high specific surface area of 29 m²/g and a narrow pore size distribution of 60–120 nm. The formation mechanism is discussed in this paper, which indicates that the key steps to form the spongelike material include a Pickering emulsion stabilized by the CSP particles, followed by the swelling process of MMA into these particles. This approach offers a more convenient alternative to prepare polymeric spongelike material without any etching procedure