Thermally-drawn fibers with spatially-selective porous domains

Abstract

The control of mass transport using porous fibers is ubiquitous, with applications ranging from filtration to catalysis. Yet, to date, porous fibers have been made of single materials in simple geometries, with limited function. Here we report the fabrication and characterization of thermally drawn multimaterial fibers encompassing internal porous domains alongside non-porous insulating and conductive materials, in highly controlled device geometries. Our approach utilizes phase separation of a polymer solution during the preform-to-fiber drawing process, generating porosity as the fiber is drawn. Engineering the preform structure grants control over the geometry and materials architecture of the final porous fibers. Electrical conductivity of the selectrolyte-filled porous domains is substantiated through ionic conductivity measurements using electrodes thermally drawn in the cross-section. Pore size tunability between 500 nm-10 μm is established by regulating the phase separation kinetics. We further demonstrate capillary breakup of cylindrical porous structures porous microspheres within the fiber core.