Facile Synthesis Of Templated Macrocellular Nanocomposite Scaffold Via Emulsifier-Free Hipe-Rop

A macrocellular nanocomposite scaffold of crosslinked poly(epsilon-caprolactone) was made by conducting a ring-opening polymerization of an emulsifier-free Pickering high internal phase emulsion (HIPE). The Pickering HIPE formulation, stabilized using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles (mSiNPs), showed extraordinary stability up to a temperature of polymerization as high as 120 degrees C. The nanocomposite scaffolds demonstrated high porosity and a liquid uptake capacity of up to similar to 23 g g(-1). The scaffolds decorated with mSiNPs were mechanically robust and showed high resiliency under cyclic compression tests.