Models for polybutadiene pore wall coatings in porous zirconia.

We present three models of the changes in measured pore size distribution for cylindrical pores when a polymer is deposited in the pores by evaporation from a volatile solvent. The predicted results serve as an aid in interpreting experimental nitrogen adsorption data for polybutadiene (PBD) coatings on porous zirconia. At low loadings, PBD appears to deposit in thin layers on the surface with no preference for filling either large or small pores. At higher PBD loadings, the polymer deposits preferentially in smaller pores. This is in qualitative agreement with PBD coatings on porous silica.