Porous polymer and metal replicas: Preparation of materials and exploration of applications

A templating process was used to prepare porous polymers and metals, and a variety of applications were examined. Silica spheres with 30 to 1000 nm diameters were prepared and packed to form colloidal crystal templates. These templates were replicated with polymers or metals to form porous materials with controlled pore structure and pore size.; Porous polymer replicas were used as chromatography packings and photonic crystals. The replicas were prepared as both bulk pellets with regions of crystalline and non-crystalline pore arrays as well as films of highly crystalline pore arrays. Porous polymer replicas prepared from pellets have the potential to be used as perfusion chromatography packings. The templates consist of two size spheres thereby yielding two pore sizes in the final product. With superior control over the pore structure and size, these materials have the potential to exhibit improved perfusion chromatographic characteristics.; Highly crystalline films of porous polymer replicas were prepared and tested for photonic crystal behavior. In order to increase the refractive index of the matrix PbS/polymer composites were made. This should increase the refractive index contrast of the matrix versus the air spheres. It was expected that as the amount of PbS in the composite increased, the photonic bandgap of the material would shift to longer wavelengths.; Porous metals were prepared in both bulk and film form. The pellets of porous metal were prepared from a process that involved reiterative hydrogen reduction of metal salt. Using XRD, the metal grain size was determined and grain size control based on template sphere diameter was discovered. Also, electroplating of metals into colloidal crystalline films was attempted. Although order of the pores was absent, porous metal was prepared.; In addition to the porous replica materials, Si/C nanoclusters were formed inside the zeolite Y cages limiting their size. The limitation of the cluster size and doping carbon atoms into the Si clusters should increase the probability of luminescence from these materials. This material exhibited photoluminescence, but reproducible results were not obtained.