Controlled Synthesis of Anisotropic Polymer Particles Templated by Porous Coordination Polymers

Nonspherical polymer particles have been efficiently prepared in different morphological crystals of porous coordination polymers (PCPs) by in situ radical polymerization of styrene and methylmethacrylate, followed by removal of the host PCP frameworks in aqueous tetrasodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Na-EDTA) solution. In this replication process, the isolated vinyl polymer particles retained the size and morphologies of the original PCP particles, although the polymer chains were not stabilized by cross-linking. This morphological retention of vinyl polymers after the isolation from the PCP matrixes was ensured by the rigidity and porosity of the polymers, which was confirmed by DSC and adsorption measurements. The unconventional assembly of polymer chains in the particles is of interest from the viewpoints of functional properties of the polymer particles.