Equilibrium phase behavior of the membrane forming water-DMSO-EVAL copolymer system

The equilibrium phase behavior of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVAL) copolymer in mixtures of DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide, solvent) and water (nonsolvent) was studied for different temperatures. Both crystallization-induced gelation and liquid-liquid demixing were observed. From the determined phase diagram of this system at 25°C, three regions may be identified, i.e., a homogeneous region, a gel region, and binodal region in which both types of phase transition take place. At higher temperatures, crystallization isotherm was found to intersect the binodal phase boundary, which is analogous to the phase behavior reported by Stokes and Berghmans for several binary systems.     

Asymmetric membrane formation via immersion precipitation method. I. Kinetic effect

The kinetic effect of the phase inversion process on the membrane morphology is explored, with emphasis on the diffusion coefficient of the nonsolvent as a measure of the solvent/nonsolvent exchange rate. The diffusion coefficient is closely related to the nonsolvent tolerance of the polymer solution, which was estimated from a pseudo-ternary phase diagram of the following system: polymer: polysulfone; solvent system: a mixture of the solvent 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone and a solvent additive (formic acid, water or ethanol); and nonsolvent: ethanol. Regardless of the kind of solvent additive employed, when the diffusion coefficient of the nonsolvent is high for a given gelation medium, then the membrane consists of a smooth, defect-free surface and macrovoid-free cross section, and is highly permeable to oxygen. However, using a polymer solution with a low diffusion coefficient results in a membrane of a rather defective morphology. Therefore, it is concluded that the diffusion coefficient of the nonsolvent is a crucial parameter in controlling membrane morphology.     

Kinetics of thermally induced phase separation in ternary polymer solutions. I. Modeling of phase separation dynamics

Simulations based on Cahn–Hilliard spinodal decomposition theory for phase separation in thermally quenched polymer/solvent/nonsolvent systems are presented. Two common membrane‐forming systems are studied, cellulose acetate [CA]/acetone/water, and poly(ethersulfone) [PES]/dimethylsulfoxide [DMSO]/water. The effects of initial polymer and nonsolvent composition on the structure‐formation dynamics are elucidated, and growth rates at specific points within the ternary phase diagram are quantified. Predicted pore growth rate curves exhibit a relative maximum with nonsolvent composition. For shallow quenches (lower nonsolvent content) near a phase boundary, the pore growth rate increases with increasing quench depth, whereas for deep quenches, where the composition of the polymer‐rich phase approaches that of a glass, the pore growth rate decreases with increasing quench depth. With increasing initial polymer concentration, the overall rate of structure growth is lowered and the growth rate maximum shifts to higher nonsolvent compositions. This behavior appears to be a universal phenomenon in quenched polymer solutions which can undergo a glass transition, and is a result of an interplay between thermodynamic and kinetic driving forces. These results suggest a mechanism for the locking‐in of the two‐phase structure that occurs during nonsolvent‐induced phase inversion. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1449–1460, 1999     

Phase behavior and structure formation in ternary blends: studies on blends of PVDF/PMMA/PVAC

The phase behavior of ternary blends was analyzed on the basis of the lattice approach. Both compatibilization and incompatibilization effects are predicted to occur depending on the relative magnitudes and the sign of the interaction parameters of the binary subsystems. Thermodynamic, structural and kinetic properties were investigated for a ternary model blend composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride), poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinyl acetate). This particular ternary system is characterized by a specific symmertry with respect to the interactions in the binary subsystems. This symmetry affects both thermodynamic and structural properties. The experimentally determined interaction parameters were used to model the phase diagram on the basis of the lattice model: the theoretical phase diagram was found to be close to the experimental one. The crystallization processes were analyzed both for the binary and the ternary systems on the basis of a modified Turnbull–Fisher equation. The conclusions are that the properties of the ternary systems can be understood to a first approximation on the basis of those of the corresponding binary systems and the symmetry of the interactions.     

Modeling of asymmetric membrane formation by dry-casting method

Many polymeric membranes are produced by phase inversion technique invented by Loeb and Sourirajan in 1962. The dry-casting method is one of the major phase inversion techniques in which a homogeneous polymer solution consisting of solvent(s) and nonsolvent(s) is cast on a support and then evaporation of the casting solution takes place under convective conditions. In this paper, we model membrane formation by the dry-casting method. The model takes into account film shrinkage, evaporative cooling, coupled heat, and mass transfer and incorporates practical and reliable diffusion theory as well as complex boundary conditions especially at the polymer solution/air interface. The predictions from the model provide composition paths, temperature, and thickness of the solution. By plotting the composition paths on the ternary phase diagram, we ascertain the general structural characteristics of the membranes prepared from particular casting conditions. The predictive ability of the model was evaluated by comparing the results with the experimental data obtained from gravimetric measurements for cellulose acetate (CA)–acetone–water system. In an attempt to illustrate the importance of diffusion formalism on the predictions, recently proposed multicomponent diffusion theory and its simplified forms were utilized in the model. The computational results show that the critical factor for capturing the accurate behavior of membrane formation is the diffusion formalism utilized in the model.     

Morphology and properties of ternary polyamide 6/polyamide 66/elastomer blends

The aim of the work presented is to evaluate the mechanisms and phase interactions in ternary blends based on different polyamides and functionalised elastomers, and to establish a correlation between the morphology controlled by the specific binary interactions, and physical and technological properties, respectively. The properties of the ternary system polyamide 6/polyamide 66/ elastomer depend on the specific blend morphology which is determined mainly by the differences of the surface tension of the components. A phase‐in‐phase structure was observed by microscopic study (AFM) in the ternary polyamide 6/polyamide 66/elastomer blends with maleic anhydride grafted ethene‐octene copolymer, and a “quasi” phase‐in‐phase structure in blends with maleic anhydride grafted ethene‐propene‐diene copolymer as the elastomer phase. An incorporation of polyamide inside of the elastomer particles was observed in the first case due to the difunctionality of polyamide 66. This type of morphology causes an increased elongation at break and toughness of these blends. In comparison to the binary polyamide based blends the ternary blends show an increased elastic modulus, elongation at break and yield stress as well as a high impact strength at low temperatures up to ?20 °C. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超临界CO_2诱导相转化法制备聚苯乙烯膜及膜体系的相图计算

以甲苯为溶剂,利用超临界CO_2诱导相转化法制备了多孔非对称聚苯乙烯膜.通过扫描电镜对膜结构进行了表征,探讨了不同温度、压力和铸膜液中聚苯乙烯浓度对膜形态、孔径分布及膜孔隙率的影响;同时,基于Tompa扩展的Flory-Huggins聚合物溶液理论计算了聚苯乙烯/超临界CO_2/甲苯铸膜体系的三元相图.研究表明,在温度为35~65℃、压力为8~16 MPa及聚合物质量分数为15%~35%条件下,制备的聚苯乙烯膜截面呈胞腔状孔结构,孔隙率为53.54%~84.67%,且孔隙率随温度、压力和聚苯乙烯浓度均呈现出先增大后减小的趋势.相图计算结果表明,温度对体系双节线位置的改变影响较小,而压力对其影响相对较大.     

Experimental determination of the H2SO4/(NH4)2SO4/H2O phase diagram

We have experimentally investigated the water and sulfuric acid-rich regions of the H2SO4/(NH4)2SO4/H2O ternary liquid/solid phase diagram using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectroscopy of thin films. We present the liquid/solid ternary phase diagram for temperatures below 373 K and H2SO4 concentrations below 60 wt %. We have determined two ternary eutectics and two tributary reaction points for this system in the regions studied. It is also seen that sulfuric acid tetrahydrate (SAT) forms as a metastable solid over a large concentration range. Two true binary systems have been identified: ice/letovicite and SAT/ammonium bisulfate. Finally, we have compared our results to the predictions of the aerosol inorganics model and have found significant differences both in the final melting points and in the location of some of the phase boundaries including a significant discrepancy in the invariant points predicted versus those observed.     

Effect of dispersed phase composition on morphological and mechanical properties of PET/EVA/PP ternary blends

Immiscible ternary blends of PET/EVA/PP (PET as the matrix and (PP/EVA) composition ratio = 1/1) were prepared by melt mixing. Scanning electron microscope results showed core‐shell type morphology for this ternary blend. Binary blends of PET/PP and PET/EVA were also prepared as control samples. Two grades of EVA with various viscosities, one higher and the other one lower than that of PP, were used to investigate the effect of components' viscosity on the droplet size of disperse phase. The effect of interfacial tension, elasticity, and viscosity on the disperse phase size of both binary and ternary blends was investigated. Variation of tensile modulus of both binary and ternary blends with dispersed phase content was also studied. Experimental results obtained for modulus of PET/EVA binary blends, showed no significant deviations from Takayanagi model, where considerable deviations were observed for PET/PP binary blends. Here, this model that has been originally proposed for binary blends was improved to become applicable for the prediction of the tensile modulus of ternary blends. The new modified model showed good agreement with the experimental data obtained in this study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 251–259, 2010     

Membrane formation and structure development by dry-cast process

The various types of porous membranes were prepared by dry-cast process in several cellulose acetate/acetone/nonsolvent systems. The nonsolvents used were 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, hexanol and octanol. Because of the high boiling points of the nonsolvents used in this work, only the solvent (acetone) evaporated during the membrane formation. The effects of the nonsolvent weight fraction in the cast solution, the polymer weight fraction, membrane thickness and kinds of the nonsolvents on the membrane structures were studied. As the nonsolvent weight fraction increased, the membrane morphology changed in the order of entirely dense, asymmetric and entirely porous structures. The increase in the polymer weight fraction and the decrease in the membrane thickness suppressed the asymmetric structures. These kinds of nonsolvents significantly influenced the membrane morphology.In order to understand the change of the obtained membrane structures, the phase diagrams for ternary systems were clarified experimentally and theoretically. Moreover, the mass transfer process was analyzed and the changes in the polymer volume fractions during the membrane formation were simulated. Based on both these thermodynamic and kinetic properties, the membrane structures obtained were discussed in detail. The asymmetrc structures obtained in this work were found to be attributable to the kinetic difference in the increase rates of the polymer fractions across the binodal line.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(ether-block-amide) Membranes

Poly(ether-block-amide) membranes were made via casting a solution on a nonsolvent (water) surface. In this research, effects of different parameters such as ratio of solvent mixture (n-butanol/isopropanol), temperature, composition of coagulation bath (water) and polymer concentration, on quality of the thin film membranes were studied. The mechanism of membrane formation involves solution spreading, solvent–nonsolvent exchange, and partial evaporation of the solvent steps. Solvent- nonsolvent exchange is the main step in membrane formation and determines membrane morphology. However, at higher temperature of polymeric solution greater portion of solvent evaporates. The results showed that type of demixing process (mutual affinity between solvent and nonsolvent) has important role in film formation. Also, addition of solvent to the nonsolvent bath is effective on membrane morphology. The film quality enhances with increasing isopropanol ratio in the solvent mixture. This behavior can be related to increasing of solution surface tension, reduction of interfacial tension between solution and nonsolvent and delayed solvent-nonsolvent demixing. Uniform films were made at a temperature rang of 60–80 °C and a polymer concentration of 4–7 wt%. Morphology of the membranes was investigated with scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Pervaporation of ethyl butyrate/water mixtures was studied using these membranes and high separation performance was achieved. For ethyl butyrate/water mixtures, It was observed that both permeation flux and separation factor increase with increasing ethyl butyrate content in the feed. Increasing temperature in limited range studied resulted in decreasing separation factor and increasing permeation flux.     

Construction of ternary phase diagrams in nonsolvent/solvent/PMMA systems

In this work, the ternary phase diagrams in three nonsolvent/solvent/PMMA systems (n-hexane/n-butyl acetate/PMMA, water/acetone/PMMA, and n-hexane/acetone/PMMA) were constructed by theoretical calculation and experimental measurement. Binodal curves were calculated by using the Flory–Huggins theory for three-component systems and measured by titrating the PMMA solution with nonsolvent until the onset of turbidity. By using concentration-dependent nonsolvent/solvent and solvent/PMMA interaction parameters and constant nonsolvent/PMMA interaction parameters, good agreement has been obtained between the calculation and the measurement. The values of nonsolvent/solvent interaction parameters were taken from the literature sources, and the values of solvent/PMMA and nonsolvent/PMMA interaction parameters were measured by vapor sorption and swelling equilibrium, respectively. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 607–615, 1998     

Enhancing oil–water emulsion separation using improved styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer membrane: Experimental and thermodynamic study of the impact of solvent mixtures

This study investigated the fabrication of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) membrane using the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method with a combination of solvents, namely N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dimethylformamide (DMF) and water as the nonsolvent. Since the impact of varying solvent ratios on SAN membrane performance remained unexplored, this study aimed to address this knowledge gap in the context of oil–water emulsion separation. Experimental results demonstrated that employing a solvent mixture, rather than a pure solvent, led to improved membrane performance. The primary objective of this work was to experimentally determine the optimal solvent ratio for enhancing SAN copolymer membrane performance. Additionally, the Flory–Huggins thermodynamic model was applied to investigate the possibility of predicting membrane binodal data. The thermodynamic analysis revealed a strong agreement between calculated and experimental binodal data, with an error of less than 3.8%. Notably, membranes produced with an equal solvent ratio exhibited the most hydrophilic properties, resulting in increased permeability. The permeate flux for distilled water reached 320 L/(m² h) (LMH), and water contact angle of the membrane was 22°. Furthermore, mechanical resistance increased up to 50%. These results highlight the promising potential of fabricating SAN membrane using solvent mixtures for oil–water emulsion separation.     

The new experimental data and a new thermodynamic model based on group contribution for correlation liquid–liquid equilibria in aqueous two-phase systems of PEG and (K2HPO4 or Na2SO4)

The new experimental data of liquid–liquid equilibria for aqueous two-phase systems PEG–K₂HPO₄–water and PEG–Na₂SO₄–water are presented. The effects of pH and molecular weight of polyethylene glycol were investigated and the tie lines with binodal curves for both systems are shown. A new thermodynamic model based on group contribution has been proposed for studying the phase behavior of aqueous two-phase polymer–salt systems. The assumptions of NRTL-NRF model and the activity coefficient equation of UNIQUAC-NRF model have been used for the groups. In this new model, UNIFAC-NRF, the nonrandom state of groups were selected as a reference state. The binary interaction parameters were adjusted using the data of binary salt–water systems and the ternary systems were correlated with only six binary adjustable parameters. The Debye–Huckel equation based on Fowller–Guggenheim equation was used to calculate the long range electrostatic interaction of the ions. The UNIFAC-NRF model was applied to correlate the experimental data of aqueous two-phase systems: PEG–K₂HPO₄–water and PEG–Na₂SO₄–water for two different molecular weight of PEG at different pH. The results of the new model showed that it can be used to correlate the LLE in aqueous solution of polymer–salt very well.     

PPESK纺丝液相分离行为与气体分离膜结构性能的关系

以含二氮杂萘酮结构的聚芳醚砜酮(PPESK)为制膜材料纺制了中空纤维气体分离膜,通过浊点滴定和线性浊点关联式(LCP关系式)计算,对PPESK三元纺丝液体系的相分离行为进行了研究,得到了PPESK三元纺丝液体系相图的相平衡曲线;并由PPESK/N,N-二甲基乙酰胺(DMAc)/γ-丁内酯(GBL)和PPESK/DMAc/丙酸(PA)体系相分离数据计算了PPESK的θ溶剂中GBL和PA与DMAc的比例.结果表明,在PPESK/DMAc/PA和PPESK/DMAc/H2O体系中,浊点滴定实验得到的相平衡曲线与依据LCP关系式计算得到的相平衡曲线吻合;体系热力学性质稳定的纺丝液体系易于制备出结构致密、选择性高的中空纤维气体分离膜;非溶剂添加剂(NSA)/DMAc混合溶剂的θ组成对膜性能有至关重要的影响,NSA/DMAc高于θ组成时,膜性能发生突变,NSA/DMAc低于θ组成时,制得的膜性能良好;力学性能测试表明PPESK中空纤维膜具有良好的机械强度.     

Phase behavior of a water/2‐propanol/poly(methyl methacrylate) cosolvent system

A phase diagram of poly(methyl methacrylate) in mixtures of water and 2‐propanol, individually nonsolvents for the polymer, was studied at 25 °C. For this system, there were two liquid–liquid demixing regions separated by a miscible region. This cosolvent phenomenon was thought to be a joint effect of the nonsolvents. The phase behavior was modeled according to modified Flory–Huggins chemical‐potential equations, which accounted for the possible contribution from a ternary interaction in terms of a lumped parameter, χ₁₂₃. The calculated phase‐equilibrium curves (binodals) agreed well with the measured results. By contrast, if only binary interaction parameters were considered, computations yielded binodals whose compositions departed significantly from the measured data. Using the wet phase inversion method with casting dopes selected on the basis of the phase diagram, we prepared membranes with microporous structures in various coagulation baths. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 747–754, 2000     

Solubility of selected dibasic carboxylic acids in water,in ionic liquid of [Bmim][BF4], and in aqueous [Bmim][BF4] solutions

The solubilities of three dibasic carboxylic acids (adipic acid, glutaric acid, and succinic acid) in water, in the ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolim tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF₄]), and in the aqueous [Bmim][BF₄] solutions have been measured by a solid-disapperance method. The binodal curve of water + [Bmim][BF₄] was also determined experimentally from solid–liquid–liquid coexistence temperature up to near the upper critical solution temperature. Experimental results showed that each acid-containing binary behaved as a simple eutectic system. The solid–liquid equilibrium (SLE) data were correlated with the NRTL model for each binary system. The NRTL model with these determined binary parameters predicted the solid-disappearance temperatures of the aqueous ternary mixtures containing [Bmim][BF₄] and the dibasic acids to within an average absolute deviation of 2.0%.     

Electronic spectroscopic study of solvation of a ketocyanine dye in ternary solvent mixtures

Solvation characteristics in ternary solvent mixtures have been studied by monitoring the solvent-sensitive electronic absorption band of a ketocyanine dye in two ternary solvent mixtures, water + ethanol + benzene and water + ethanol + cyclohexane, in which one of the pairs are partially miscible. Investigations have been done in a completely miscible region including the binodal curve. The maximum energy of absorption (E) of the solute in a ternary solvent mixture differs significantly from the mole fraction average of the E-values in the component solvents. Results in the corresponding binary solvent mixtures also show a deviation of the E-value from the mole fraction averaged E-values, indicating preferential solvation by a component solvent. The results in ternary solvent mixture have been explained in terms of a realistic model of solvation using the results on binary solvation.     

BPU/PLLA/DO体系的热力学性质对成膜过程及共混膜结构的影响

利用浸沉凝胶相转化法制备医用聚氨酯(BPU)/聚乳酸(PLLA)微孔膜,讨论了BPU/PLLA不同配比时聚合物/1,4-二氧六环/水三元体系的凝胶特性及其对共混膜结构和性能的影响,并初步探讨成膜机理.研究结果表明,随着BPU/PLLA质量比例由90/10变为75/25、50/50、25/75、10/90,聚合物/溶剂/非溶剂三元体系的热力学稳定性增强,凝胶值增大,但是共混溶液的黏度增大;并且,共混膜的孔隙率、膜厚、平均孔径、水蒸汽透过速率及吸水率先增加后降低.这主要是由于随着BPU/PLLA质量比例的变化,动力学扩散过程控制成膜速度转变为成膜体系热力学性质控制成膜速度;成膜过程由延时分相转变为瞬时分相,后又转变为延时分相.