Patent ID: 7250234

Claim:
A liquid phase mixture for use in preparing a microcomposite structure, said microcomposite structure being composed of a continuous solid phase reticulated membrane loaded with a formed in situ continuous gel phase, and including a solid phase anionic surfactant at an interface between said solid and gel phases, said solution comprising: a polymer blend consisting essentially of polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, said polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene being present in said polymer blend in a ratio of from about 1:0.05 to 1:0.6; an amount of an aprotic solvent system selected from the group consisting of propylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate, tetrahydrofuran, butylene carbonate, diethylcarbonate, dipropyl carbonate, ethyl methyl carbonate, 1,2-dimethoxymethane, 1,2-diethoxyethane, 1,2-dibutoxyethane, and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, and mixtures thereof that is sufficient to dissolve said polymer blend; an amount of said anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of lithium styrene sulfonate, lithium salts of alicylaryl sulfonates, and mixtures thereof that is sufficient to stabilize said gel phase; an amount of a surfactant solvent system selected from the group consisting of mixtures of ethanol and acetone, methanol, propanol, methyl ethyl ketone, ethyl ketone, butanol, diethyl ketone, and mixtures thereof that is sufficient to dissolve said anionic surfactant; and a phase separation liquid that is miscible with said aprotic solvent system, and in which said polymer blend is substantially insoluble, said phase separation liquid being present in an amount that is effective to promote the formation of the solid and gel phases.