Macroporous polymer beads derived from a novel coporogen of polyethylene/dichlorobenzene

Macroporous poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) beads were prepared by traditional suspension polymerization in the presence of dichlorobenzene (DCB) and polyethylene (PE) as coporogen. Two types of PE with different molecular weights were used as polymer porogen, and the weight percent of PE in DCB varied from 0 to 8.0 wt%. Effects of PE concentration and PE molecular weight on the pore structure of PDVB beads were investigated. As expected, the highest surface area was achieved by the beads prepared with DCB as the sole porogen. Applying coporogen with PE with low molecular weight (LPE) content, the surface area of PDVB beads declined because of early phase separation induced by the cooperation of LPE and DCB. However, the value increased abruptly when 5 wt% LPE in DCB was used as coporogen. Subsequently, the values again decreased when LPE amount further increased. Overall, the molecular weight of PE and the concentration of PE in coporogen had a significant effect on the pore structure and surface morphology of PDVB beads.