Cryogels: Freezing unveiled by thawing

Cryogels are interconnected supermacroporous gels prepared at sub-zero temperatures having applications in various research fields. The process of cryogelation is ideally thought to take place via following steps: phase separation with ice-crystal formation, cross-linking and polymerization followed by thawing of ice-crystals to form an interconnected porous cryogel network. This phenomenon mostly thought as a theoretical concept has now been revealed here in practical terms via data generated by micro-computed tomography (Micro CT). Micro CT is mainly used for characterizing the gel materials in terms of their physical properties like pore size, porosity, strut size, etc., whereas this work has pioneered its role in elucidating the process of cryogel formation.