Tailoring the morphology and epoxy group content of glycidyl methacrylate-based polyHIPE monoliths via radiation-induced polymerization at room temperature

Glycidylmethacrylate (GMA)-based poly(high internal phase emulsion) (polyHIPE) monoliths were prepared using a HIPE template via radiation-induced polymerization at room temperature. The effects of surfactant content, cross-linking degree, water fraction, and porogen content on the surface area, average void diameter, distribution of void diameter, average interconnection diameter, average pore diameter, and epoxy group content of GMA-based polyHIPE monoliths were investigated. The morphology and epoxy group content of GMA-based polyHIPE monoliths may be tailored by tuning each of the factors above according to the requirements of specific applications. Finally, the different morphology and epoxy group content of GMA-based polyHIPE monoliths were applied in phenol removal from cigarette smoke (CS) through a reaction between the epoxy group and phenol. The results showed that GMA-based polyHIPE monoliths with the higher content of epoxy group and bigger surface area showed the higher rate of phenol removal.