Abstract
Pore geometry plays a crucial role in determining the properties and functions of porous materials. Various methods have been developed to prepare porous materials that have randomly distributed or well-aligned pores. However, a technique capable of fine regulation of local pore orientation is still highly desired but difficult to attain. A technique, termed mold-assisted ice templating (MIT), is reported to control and program the local orientation of micropores. MIT employs a copper mold of a particular shape (for instance a circle, square, hexagon, or star) and a cold finger to regulate the 3D orientation of a local temperature gradient, which directs the growth of ice crystals; this approach results in the formation of finely regulated patterns of lamellar pore structures. Moreover, the lamellar thickness and spacing can be tuned by controlling the solution concentration.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2000963 |
Journal | Small Methods |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 15 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51973165) and National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1105100).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH
Keywords
- ice templates
- local orientation
- porous structures
- temperature gradients
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry (all)
- Materials Science (all)