<p>To
create microporous nanocomposite epoxy thermosets (MiNET), a mixing pathway is
demonstrated in which a bicontinuous emulsion gel (bijel) like viscous fluid is
kinetically trapped by high shear mixing of immiscible liquids, surfactant, and
nanoparticles. The MiNETs are prepared from common ingredients, that are widely
employed in industry, including epoxy resin, vegetable oil, epoxidized soybean
oil, and different types of nanoparticles such as silica, activated carbon,
alumina, and zinc oxide. MiNETs prepared by the presented route are processed at
ambient conditions and exhibit low shrinkage (less than 2%). Furthermore, they are
suitable to erect macro- to microscale structures with high precision and
various porosity. The interconnected porous architecture of MiNET is even preserved
in microscale features and thus ensures the mass transport in microstructures. With
facile processability and tunability of pore sizes in a wide range (~100 nm to
few microns), the proposed route overcomes the two major roadblocks – difficulty
in fabrication and large domain size (on the order of 5µm or larger) – of bijel-like
materials to apply in catalysis, energy storage, and molecular encapsulation. </p>
Evaluation of Modeled Stratocumulus-Capped Boundary Layer Turbulence with Shipborne Data