A new route to carbon black filled polyHIPEs

A series of carbon black filled polyHIPEs was synthesised following a new preparation protocol. 1 wt% carbon black was dispersed in the monomer mixture. In order to enhance the stability of the suspension, in situ polymer grafting of carbon black was performed by initiating the polymerisation prior to emulsifying the formulation. All of the carbon black filled polymer foams synthesised via the new preparation protocol have the characteristics usually observed for polyHIPEs. Carbon black particles are incorporated into the pore walls without affecting the pore structure of the polyHIPEs. The new preparation protocol positively influenced the properties of the resulting polyHIPEs namely the pore interconnectivity is increased and a water permeability of up to 2.3 D is achieved.