3P-568 : Fabrication of multicomponent porous polymer particles via inkjet method

We developed an inkjet fabrication method of highly porous particles with a narrow size distribution. The polymer solution, which was one or more than one polymers dissolved in a co-solvent, was periodically discharged into the air through the inkjet nozzle that was operated with a piezo device. The co-solvent in the discharged droplets with a micro-meter size was rapidly evaporated while they fell into a collection vessel, leading to the particles that were highly porous. Notably, in the case when the solution was composed of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers, the rapid evaporation did not provide a sufficient time for being phase-separated between the two polymers, resulting in the formation of kinetically stable multicomponent polymer particles.