Preparation of Pickering-polyHIPEs from surface modified pumice stabilized high internal phase emulsions as supporting materials for lauric acid impregnation

Preparation of Pickering-high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) by using natural abundant pumice zeolite was performed. Pumice was surface modified with cethyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) to increase its compatibility with the emulsion phases. By using a combination of CTAB-modified pumice (CtP) and low amount of non-ionic emulsifier mixture Pickering-HIPEs were obtained. The influence of the amount of surface modified pumice and emulsifier mixture on the emulsion stability was observed. The morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties of the obtained polyMMA-based Pickering-polyHIPEs were investigated by altering the amount of CtP loading. Moreover, the Pickering-polyHIPE monolith exhibiting an open-porous network was used as supporting matrix for lauric acid (LA). The thermal characterization of the resulting LA impregnated Pickering-polyHIPE composite revealed that the impregnation rate of LA is 42.08%. The latter formed Pickering-polyHIPE composite showed a good performance in latent heat storage due to the 111.2 J/g of normalized enthalpy of LA within the Pickering-polyHIPE composite.