Synthesis Methods

This chapter details microfluidics, membrane/microchannel, suspension, dispersion, precipitation, multistage polymerizations and a few other less known methods. Porogens are substances that can yield a porous nature of certain particles. In order to cause a spinodal decomposition, it is preferable to use living radical polymerization that proceeds in a consecutive manner. High internal phase emulsion polymerization is a relatively new technique that has found a wide variety of applications in tissue engineering scaffolds, enzyme immobilization, and gas storage and separation media. The chapter describes a methanesulfonic acid-mediated solvent-free synthesis of conjugated porous polymer networks. Suspension polymerization is a heterogeneous radical polymerization process that uses mechanical agitation to mix a monomer or mixture of monomers in a liquid phase, such as water, while the monomers polymerize, forming spheres of a polymer. An aqueous dispersion containing an enzymatically biodegradable biopolymer and a foaming agent is used.