Myrcene based porous polymers via emulsion templating and thiol-ene polymerisation

Porous polymer networks were synthesized via thiol–ene photopolymerization using a naturally occuring terpene myrcene and the multifunctional thiol, trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate). A highly porous structure (up to 80% porosity) was achieved by polymerizing the monomeric phase of high internal phase (HIP) emulsions, composed of myrcene and trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), which facilitated the formation of polyHIPE materials. Myrcene was incorporated in concentrations ranging from 9 to 40 mol%, and its content was found to significantly influence the resulting polymer morphology. Depending on the formulation, both bicontinuous-like and open-cell polyHIPE morphologies were obtained. In addition to myrcene content, the thiol-to-alkene functional group ratio (1:1 ratio of thiol to alkene groups, as well as formulations with an excess of alkene functionalities relative to thiols).