Supporting data for Tough Polycyclooctene Nanoporous Membranes from Etchable Block Copolymers

Abstract

These files contain primary data along with associated output from instrumentation supporting all results reported in Hoehn et al. "Tough Polycyclooctene Nanoporous Membranes from Etchable Block Copolymers". In Hoehn et al. we found porous materials with pore dimensions of the nanometer length scale are useful as nanoporous membranes. ABA triblock copolymers are convenient precursors to such nanoporous materials if the end blocks are easily degradable (e.g., polylactide or PLA) in thin films leaving nanoporous polymeric membranes (NPMs). The membrane properties are dependent on midblock monomer structure, triblock copolymer composition, overall molar mass, and polymer processing conditions. Polycyclooctene (PCOE) NPMs were prepared using this method, with tunable pore sizes on the order of tens of nanometers. Solvent casting was shown to eliminate film defects and allowed achievement of superior mechanical properties over melt processing techniques, and PCOE NPMs were found to be very tough, a major advance over previously reported NPMs. Oxygen plasma etching was used to remove the surface skin layer to obtain membranes with higher surface porosity, membrane hydrophilicity, and flux of both air and water. This is a straightforward method to reliably produce highly tough NPMs with high levels of porosity and hydrophilic surface properties.