Engineering macroporous composite materials using competitive adsorption in particle-stabilized foams

Joanna C H Wong; Elena Tervoort; Stephan Busato; Paolo Ermanni; Ludwig J Gauckler

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2012.05.049

Engineering macroporous composite materials using competitive adsorption in particle-stabilized foams

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2012 Oct 1;383(1):1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2012.05.049. Epub 2012 Jun 23.

Authors

Joanna C H Wong¹, Elena Tervoort, Stephan Busato, Paolo Ermanni, Ludwig J Gauckler

Affiliation

¹ Centre of Structure Technologies, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Leonharstrasse 27, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. joanna.wong@empa.ch

PMID: 22795040
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2012.05.049

Abstract

The high absorption energies of partially wetted particles at fluid interfaces allow the production of macroporous composite materials from particle-stabilized foams. Competition between the different particle types determines how they are distributed in the foam lamella and allow the phase distribution to be controlled; a technique that is useful in the design and engineering of porous composites. Here, we report details on the effects of preferential and competitive adsorption of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and alumina (Al(2)O(3)) particles at the foam interfaces on the consolidated macroporous composite materials. By varying the relative composition and surface energies of the stabilizing particles, macroporous composite materials with a broad range of phase distributions are possible.