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

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.

Controlling phase distributions in macroporous composite materials through particle-stabilized foams.

Aqueous foams stabilized by ceramic and thermoplastic polymeric particles provide a general method for producing novel porous materials because their extraordinary stability against disproportionation and drainage allows them to be dried and sintered into solid materials. Here, we report the different microstructures that can be obtained from liquid foams stabilized by binary mixtures of particles when the interfacial energies between the particles and the air-liquid interfaces are manipulated to promote either preferential or competitive self-assembly of the particles at the foam interface. Modification of the interfacial energies was accomplished through surface modification of the particles or by decreasing the surface tension of the aqueous phase.