High Porosity Poly(ether ketone ketone): Influence of Solvents on Foam Properties

Abstract Poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK) is a semicrystalline high‐performance polymer with exceptional mechanical properties, high continuous operation temperature, and is insoluble in most common solvents. Porous PEKK, desired for biomedical applications, is produced by a high‐temperature thermally induced phase separation process using PEKK solutions in two high boiling aprotic solvents, 4‐phenylphenol and 9‐fluorenone, with concentrations up to 20 wt.%. It is demonstrated that the solvent choice has a pronounced influence on the phase separation behavior, which determines the foam morphology, physical and mechanical properties of PEKK foams. Porous PEKK with porosities ranging from 70% to 90%, specific surface areas up to 194 m2 g−1 and elastic moduli ranging from 35 to 100 MPa are produced.