Fabrication of Elastic Macroporous Polymers with Enhanced Oil Absorbability and Antiwaxing Performance

Porous polymers are of great interest in potential energy storage and environmental remediation applications. However, traditional fabrication methods are either time-consuming or energy-consuming and deteriorate the mechanical strength of polymer materials. In this study, polymerization-induced phase separation was used to realize the template-free fabrication of superflexible macroporous polymers. Since the solvent is also used as a porogen, this method can be widely used to synthesize several porous polymers by carefully choosing the solvent and monomer. Compared to nonstructured polymers, the prepared macroporous polymers exhibited enhanced mechanical strength, superflexibility, multicompressibility, and bending properties. Along with hydrophobicity/oleophilicity and macroporous structures, the as-prepared porous polymers demonstrated controllable oil absorbability and release; furthermore, after infusing with lubrication liquid, these materials can be used as antiwaxing materials. The elastic porous polymers prepared using this simple and universal method show great potential for various applications, including controlled drug release, antiwaxing, and lubrication.