| abstract |
This invention relates to a non-supported (or free standing) cross linked polymer film obtainable by initiating the polymerization of one or several monomers at an interphase. The interphase may be between two immiscible liquids or at a liquid-gas, solid-gas or solid-liquid interphase. The polymer may be used to facilitate chemical reactions, for separation of substances, as a chromatographic stationary phase, as an adsorbent, in sensors or actuators. It may also be used for drug delivery, as a responsive valve or in artificial muscles. The invention also relates to a method for producing thin film polymers, wherein controlled radical polymerization (CRP) is used to produce a thin film cross-linked polymer at an interface where one of the phases (liquid, solid or gas) can be removed after polymerization and be replaced with another phase (liquid, solid or gas). |