Determining the effects of vapor sorption in polymers with the quartz crystal microbalance/heat conduction calorimeter

The quartz crystal microbalance/heat conduction calorimeter (QCM/HCC) is a versatile instrument coupling both gravimetric and calorimetric techniques. The QCM/HCC is used to probe vapor sorption in thin films. Three parameters are measured simultaneously as a thin film undergoes vapor sorption, namely: mass changes in the film (±10 ng), corresponding thermal effects upon vapor sorption (±100 nW), and motional resistance (±0.5Ω) changes within the film. A range of film thicknesses (0.75 to 8.5 μm) of the polymer, Tecoflex? are cast on QCMs and the interaction of each film with ethanol and water is determined. From the direct calorimetric measurements, sorption enthalpies (Δ_sorptionH kJ/mol) are determined for the film–vapor interactions. Sorption isotherms are then analyzed for each film. The isotherms shown here generally display a linear Henry's Law dissolution relationship between the vapor pressure and the amount of vapor sorbed into the film. Motional resistance data provides a window to view viscoelastic effects of the polymer films upon vapor sorption. Motional resistance data are compared for ethanol sorption in a relatively thin (0.75 μm) and thicker (8.5 μm) Tecoflex? film. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3893–3906, 2004     

Water sorption on and water diffusion in chitin and chitosan

The kinetics of the sorption of water vapor on powders of crab-shell chitin and chitosan are studied via the methods of static sorption, thermography, and X-ray structural analysis. Sorption isotherms are obtained in the range of humidity from 10 to 95%. S-Shaped water-sorption isotherms observed for all chitin and chitosan samples are approximated via superpositioning of Langmuir and Flory-Huggins isotherms. The water-polysaccharide interaction parameters and the maximum sorption capacities of water located in chitin and chitosan are determined. The cluster integral is calculated, and the moisture values corresponding to water-cluster formation are determined. The water-diffusion coefficients are determined, and the effective activation energies of water diffusion are estimated: 70 kJ/mol in chitosan and 60 kJ/mol in chitin. The data on the concentration dependences of the coefficients of diffusion of water in the powdered chitin and chitosan are summarized.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blend membranes for pervaporation separation of water + isopropanol and water + 1,4-dioxane mixtures

Pervaporation (PV) separation of water + isopropanol and water + 1,4-dioxane mixtures has been attempted using the blend membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with 5 wt.% of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). These results have been compared with the plain PVA membrane. Both plain PVA and PVA/PMMA blend membranes have been crosslinked with glutaraldehyde in an acidic medium. The membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and universal testing machine. Pervaporation separation experiments have been performed at 30 °C for 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 wt.% of feed water mixtures containing isopropanol as well as 1,4-dioxane. PVA/PMMA blend membrane has shown a selectivity of 400 for 10 wt.% of water in water + isopropanol feed, while for water + 1,4-dioxane feed mixture, membrane selectivity to water was 104 at 30 °C. For both the feed mixtures, selectivity for the blend membrane was higher than that observed for plain PVA membrane, but flux of the blend membrane was lower than that observed for the plain PVA membrane. Membranes of this study are able to remove as much as 98 wt.% of water from the feed mixtures of water + isopropanol, while 92 wt.% of water was removed from water + 1,4-dioxane feed mixtures at 30 °C. Flux of water increased for both the feed mixtures, while the selectivity decreased at higher feed water concentrations. The same trends were observed at 40 and 50 °C for 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of water mixtures containing isopropanol as well as 1,4-dioxane feed mixtures, which also covered their azeotropic composition ranges. Membrane performance was studied by calculating flux (J_p), selectivity (), pervaporation separation index (PSI) and enrichment factor (β). Permeation flux followed the Arrhenius trend over the range of temperatures investigated. It was found that by introducing a hydrophobic PMMA polymer into a hydrophilic PVA, the selectivity increased dramatically, while flux decreased compared to plain PVA, due to a loss in PVA chain relaxation.     

Selective water sorbents for multiple applications, 1. CaCl2 confined in mesopores of silica gel: Sorption properties

This paper presents sorption properties of a selective water sorbent based on mesoporous KSKG silica gel as a host matrix and calcium chloride as a hygroscopic salt. Sorption isobars, isochores and isotherms at T=20–150°C and vapor partial pressures of 8–133 mbar clearly showed two types of water sorption: 1) the formation of solid crystal hydrates at low amounts N of sorbed water, and 2) vapor absorption mainly by the salt solution at higher N. Sorption properties of CaCl₂ crystal hydrates were found to change strongly due to their impregnation into mesoporous silica gel, whereas the solution confinement to the mesopores did not change its water sorption properties with respect to the bulk solution. Isosteric sorption heat was measured to depend on water sorption and to change from 62.5 kJ/mol for solid hydrates to 42.2–45.6 kJ/mol for solution.     

SORPTION OF PHENOL ONTO GEL-TYPE CROSSLINKED POLYSTYRENEISOCYANURIC ACID RESIN

I INTRODUCTIONIn our previous work, three series of macroporous hydrogen-bonding adsorbents have beenstudied, which were adsorbents with hydrogen donator, adsorbents with hydrogen acceptor, andadsorbents with both hydrogen donator and acceptor if-31. If a gel-type resin with hydrogendonator and/or acceptor contacts with a compound with hydrogen acceptor and/Or donatof, canthe gel-type resin sorb the compound based on of hydrogen bonding? Here we report the sorptionof phenol onto gel-type …     

Sorption and diffusion of methyl substituted benzenes through cross-linked nitrile rubber/poly(ethylene co-vinyl acetate) blend membranes

The diffusion and sorption of methyl substituted benzenes through cross-linked nitrile rubber/poly(ethylene co-vinyl acetate) (NBR/EVA) blend membranes has been studied. The influence of blend composition, cross-linking systems, temperature and size of penetrants on the transport behaviour has been analysed. It was observed that as the EVA content increases in the blends, the solvent uptake decreases. An increase in the penetrant size also decreases the solvent uptake. The diffusion experiments were carried out in the temperature range 23–75 °C. As temperature increases the equilibrium uptake also increases. The transport coefficients namely diffusion coefficient, sorption coefficient and permeation coefficient have been calculated. The sorption data has been used to estimate the activation energies for permeation and diffusion. The van’t Hoff relationship was used to determine the thermodynamic parameters. The affine and phantom models for chemical cross-links were used to predict the nature of cross-links. Models for permeability were used and the theoretical values compared with the experimental results.     

The effect of humidity on dehydration behavior of nitrofurantoin monohydrate studied by humidity controlled simultaneous instrument for X-ray Diffractometry and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (XRD–DSC)

The dependence of thermal dehydration behavior of nitrofurantoin monohydrate on humidity was studied. Difference in observed crystallinity of resulting anhydrates under three humidity conditions is discussed in relation to the effect of water vapor molecules. Thermal dehydration of nitrofurantoin monohydrate was measured using a humidity controlled simultaneous measurement instrument for X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) in dry, 27 °C 91% RH and 60 °C 90% RH nitrogen. Dehydration of nitrofurantoin in dry nitrogen gave a mixture of crystalline and amorphous anhydrates in the temperature range of 124–180 °C followed by crystallization around 185–190 °C. Whereas, dehydration in high humidity atmosphere (60 °C 90% RH or 17.7% H₂O–82.3% N₂) gave well crystallized anhydrate at 140 °C soon after dehydration. Dehydration in low humidity nitrogen (27 °C 91% RH or 3.2% H₂O–96.8% N₂) gave not totally crystalline anhydrate, which became pure crystalline at around 190 °C. The effect of high humidity on dehydration and crystallinity of the resulting anhydrate can be attributed to the role of water vapor molecules in two ways such as the acceleration of molecular mobility and high molecular diffusion rate of nitrofurantoin anhydrate, and the formation of hydrogen bonding bridges quickly connecting dehydrated molecules to one another.     

Small-angle neutron scattering study on microstructure of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) in water

By employing small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we investigated the microstructures of, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (NE) in deuterated water D₂O, as related to macroscopic behaviors of fluidity, turbidity and synerisis. SANS revealed following results: (i) microphase separation occurs at around above 17 °C in a temperature range of transparent sol below 30 °C. In the microdomain appeared in the transparent sol state, both block chains of PNIPA and PEG are swollen by water; (ii) for the NE solution of polymer concentration W_p > 3.5% (w/v), corresponding to opaque gel above 30 °C, a percolated structure, i.e., network-like domain is formed by NE as a result of macrophase separation due to dehydration of the PNIPA chains. As the temperature increases toward 40 °C, the network domain is squeezed along a direction parallel to the NE interface, which leads to increase of the interfacial thickness given by swollen PEG chains and to the macroscopic synerisis behavior.     

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) ionomers containing fluorenyl groups for fuel cell applications

A series of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (SPEs) containing fluorenyl groups as bulky components were synthesized and characterized for fuel cell applications. Introduction of disodium 3,3′-disulfo-4,4′-difluorophenyl sulfone (SFPS) monomer gave ionomers with high acidity and accordingly high proton conductivity as well as high proton diffusion coefficient (D_σ) at low humidity. The membrane of SPE60 (where the number denotes mole percentage of the component containing sulfonic acid groups; IEC (ion exchange capacity) = 1.68 mequiv./g) exhibited high proton conductivity of 4.6 × 10⁻³ S/cm at 40% RH and 80 °C, which is one order of magnitude higher than that (6 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm) of our previous SPE (SPE-1, IEC = 1.58 mequiv./g). D_σ of SPE60 membrane was ca. 4 times higher than that of the SPE-1 membrane at low water volume fraction. SPE membranes showed good oxidative and hydrolytic stability as well as favorable thermal and mechanical properties. Small-angle X-ray scattering analyses showed that the phase separation of SPE membranes was much less developed than that of the perfluorinated Nafion membrane which accounts for lower hydrogen and oxygen permeability of the former membranes.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/cellulose nanocrystal barrier membranes

In this study, barrier membranes were prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) with different amounts of cellulose nanocrystals (CNXLs) as filler. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was used as a crosslinking agent to provide water resistance to PVOH. The membranes were heat treated at various temperatures to optimize the crosslinking density. Heat treatment at 170 °C for 45 min resulted in membranes with improved water resistance without polymer degradation. Infrared spectroscopy indicated ester bond formation with heat treatment. Mechanical tests showed that membranes with 10% CNXLs/10% PAA/80% PVOH were synergistic and had the highest tensile strength, tensile modulus and toughness of all the membranes studied. Polarized optical microscopy showed agglomeration of CNXLs at filler loadings greater than 10%. Differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTGA) showed a highly synergistic effect with 10% CNXL/10% PAA/80% PVOH and supported the tensile test results.Transport properties were studied, including water vapor transport rate and the transport of trichloroethylene, a representative industrial toxic material. Water vapor transmission indicated that all the membranes allowed moisture to pass. However, moisture transport was reduced by the presence of both CNXLs and PAA crosslinking agent. A standard time lag diffusion test utilizing permeation cups was used to study the chemical barrier properties. The membranes containing ≥10% CNXLs or PAA showed significantly reduced flux compared to the control. The CNXLs were then modified by surface carboxylation in order to better understand the mechanism of transport reduction. While barrier performance improvements were minimal, the chemical modification improved the dispersion of the modified CNXLs which led to improved performance. Of special note was an increase in the initial degradation temperatures of both modified and unmodified systems, with the modified system showing an initial degradation temperature >100 °C higher than the cellulose alone. This may reflect more extensive crosslinking in the modified composite.     

Changes in commercial wood charcoals by thermal treatments

As a continuation of a recent study of commercial wood charcoals as far as their potential production of carbon adsorbents is concerned, we have studied the influence of the final heating temperature (T) as carbonization variable in the range 250–1000 °C on the yield and on the characteristics of granular chars prepared from two very different charcoals: a holm-oak charcoal manufactured by partial combustion in a charcoal kiln and an eucalyptus charcoal industrially manufactured in a continuous furnace. Our study also includes the changes produced in both charcoals heated at 250 °C in air for 24 h, and their influences on the adsorption of water vapour at 25 °C. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetry, chemical analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, densimetric measurements and mercury porosimetry. T affects the char yield, the chemical composition and the porosity of each char series differently. In particular, the total open pore volumes (to helium) of the starting charcoals, 0.475 and 1.044 cm³ g⁻¹, increase to 0.872 and 1.293 cm³ g⁻¹ heating up to 1000 and 500 °C, respectively. The changes by carbonization are mainly due to devolatilization; moreover, a moderate structural shrinkage occurs heating the eucalyptus charcoal at T > 500 °C. Concerning the air treatments, the yields do not present a significant difference; carbonyl groups are formed and the resulting pore structures depend on the starting charcoals. Water adsorption is larger for the eucalyptus carbons (approximately type V isotherms) than for the holm-oak carbons (type II isotherms).     

Preparation of polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes by dynamic layer-by-layer process for pervaporation separation of alcohol/water mixtures

In the past decades, the layer-by-layer (LBL) adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes has proven to be a promising method for the preparation of polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes. However, to obtain a good separation capability, LBL adsorption involved relatively long periods because 50–60 bilayers were normally required. The aim of this study was to develop such a new method that would allow simplification of the LBL procedure. LBL adsorption was proposed to proceed under a dynamic condition to prepare polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes. The polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) were alternatively deposited on polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration support membrane under a pressure of 0.1 MPa. The polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes prepared by dynamic LBL process were compared with those prepared by the static LBL process for the pervaporation separation of water–ethanol mixture. The results suggested that a relatively high separation factor could be obtained with only four composite bilayers by using dynamic LBL process. The preparative conditions including bilayer number, filtration time of the first PAA layer, reaction time, ratio between polayanion and polycation concentrations, PAA molecular weight and salt addition were investigated. The pervaporation conditions such as feed temperature and water concentration in the feed were also evaluated. Under the temperature of 40 °C, the separation factor and the permeate flux of the polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes were about 1207 and 140 g/(m² h), respectively.     

Sorption and transport of water in nylon-6 films

Sorption and transport properties of water through films of Nylon-6 were obtained at 5, 23, and 40°C. Commercially available films were used and a Cahn electrobalance was employed for measuring the water uptake by the polymer samples. Values of the water sorption isotherms are accurately described by the Langmuir/Flory-Huggins dual-mode sorption model. At water activity values below 0.15, the volume fraction of water described by the Langmuir portion of the model was greater than the Flory-Huggins population. Solubility and diffusion coefficients of water, as well as the diffusion activation energy and enthalpy of dissolution of water for Nylon-6, were determined from the sorption experiments. Values obtained support the hypothesis of a bimodal water sorption mode, and the formation of water clusters. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Multimodal sorption of nonionic dyes with two amino groups by various polymers from water

Sorption isotherms of nonionic dyes with two amino groups (one anthraquinone dye and two azo dyes) on various polymers from water were measured at 40–90°C (Nylon-6 and cellulose film) and at 95°C (polyester microfiber). The isotherms were curved, convex to upward, in the range of low dye concentration C_s in water and almost linear in the range of medium to saturated C_s. The isotherms measured at low temperature (40°C for cellulose, 40–60°C for Nylon-6, and at 95°C for polyester) were satisfactorily described by considering three concurrent modes of sorption. They are Nernst type partitioning and bimodal Langmuir sorption (sorption by the higher affinity sites with a small saturation value and that by the lower affinity sites with a large saturation value). However, for the sorption of the anthraquinone dye and one azo dye by Nylon-6 film at high temperature (80–90°C), the amount of dye sorbed by the high affinity site decreased to negligibly small. Accordingly, the isotherms were expressed well by simple dual-sorption model. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Use of inverse gas chromatography to characterize cotton fabrics and their interactions with fragrance molecules at controlled relative humidity

The present work focused on the surface characterization and fragrance interactions of a common cotton towel at different relative humidities (RHs) using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and dynamic vapour sorption. The sigmoidal water sorption isotherms showed a maximum of 16% (w/w) water uptake with limited swelling at 100% RH. This means that water interacts strongly with cotton and might change its initial physico-chemical properties. The same cotton towel was then packed in a glass column and characterized by IGC at different relative humidities, calculating the dispersive and specific surface energy components. The dispersive component of the surface energy decreases slightly as a function of relative humidity (42 mJ/m2 at 0% RH to 36 mJ/m2 at 80% RH) which would be expected from swelling of the humidified cotton. The Gutmann's donor constant Kd increased from 0.28 kJ/mol at 0% RH to 0.42 kJ/mol at 80% RH, indicating that a greater hydrophilic surface exists at 80% RH, which is also as expected. Water, undecane and four fragrance molecules (dimetol, benzyl acetate, decanal and phenylethanol) were used to investigate cotton-fragrance interactions between 0 and 80% RH. The adsorption enthalpies and the Henry's constants were calculated and are discussed. The higher values for the adsorption enthalpies of polar molecules such as dimetol and phenylethanol suggest the presence of hydrogen bonds as the main adsorption mechanism. The Henry's constant of dimetol was also determined by headspace gas chromatography measurements at 20% RH, giving a similar value (230 nmol/Pa g by IGC and 130 nmol/Pa g by headspace GC), supporting the usefulness of IGC for such determinations. This work confirms the usefulness of chromatographic methods to investigate biopolymers such as textiles, starches and hairs.     

Sorption and pervaporation properties of crosslinked membranes of poly(ethylene oxide imide) segmented copolymer to aromatic/nonaromatic hydrocarbon mixtures

Poly(ethylene oxide imide) segmented copolymer (PEO‐PI) membranes were crosslinked by the chemical reaction between ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and benzylalcohol groups of diamine moieties in polyimide segments at high temperatures. Sorption and diffusion of penetrants took place in poly(ethylene oxide) segment microdomains. Sorption and desorption behavior of pure vapors such as benzene (Bz), cyclohexane (Cx) and n‐hexane (Hx) was classified as the Fickian diffusion. Sorption isotherms of binary liquid mixtures could be represented by the Flory–Rehner model, but the model overpredicted the sorption amounts of Cx and Hx, leading to small predictions of sorption selectivity α_S for Bz/Cx and Bz/Hx systems. UNIFAC‐FV model fairly well predicted the sorption amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons, but significantly overestimated those of nonaromatic ones, leading to too small predictions of α_S. Pervaporation (PV) behavior of PEO‐PI membranes was governed by sorption behavior followed by membrane swelling. Diffusion coefficient weakly depended on the minimum cross section of a penetrant. The diffusivity selectivity α_D hardly depended on the feed composition and was about 1.4 and 0.75 for Bz/Cx and Bz/Hx, respectively. PV selectivity α_PV was larger for Bz/Hx than for Bz/Cx because of larger α_S. PEO‐PI membranes displayed high specific permeation flux Ql and reasonably high α_PV for aromatic/nonaromatic hydrocarbons; for example, Ql = 60 Kg μm/(m² h) and α_PV = 8 for a feed mixture containing Bz, Tol, Hx, n‐Ot and i‐Ot of 20 wt % at 353 K. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1800–1811, 2000     

The efficacy of nitrosonaphthol functionalized XAD-16 resin for the preconcentration/sorption of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions

Amberlite XAD-16 resin has been functionalized using nitrosonaphthol as a ligand and characterized employing elemental, thermogravimetric analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. The sorption of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions onto this functionalized resin is investigated and optimized with respect to the sorptive medium (pH), shaking speed and equilibration time between liquid and solid phases. The monitoring of the influence of diverse ions on the sorption of metal ions has revealed that phosphate, bicarbonate and citrate reduce the sorption up to 10–14%. The sorption data followed Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherms. The Freundlich parameters computed are 1/n = 0.56 ± 0.03 and 0.49 ± 0.05, A = 9.54 ± 1.5 and 6.0 ± 0.5 mmol g⁻¹ for Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions, respectively. D–R isotherm yields the values of X_m = 0.87 ± 0.07 and 0.35 ± 0.05 mmol g⁻¹ and of E = 9.5 ± 0.23 and 12.3 ± 0.6 kJ mol⁻¹ for Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions, respectively. Langmuir characteristic constants estimated are Q = 0.082 ± 0.005 and 0.063 ± 0.003 mmol g⁻¹, b = (4.7 ± 0.2) × 10⁴ and (7.31 ± 0.11) × 10⁴ l mol⁻¹ for Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions, respectively. The variation of sorption with temperature gives thermodynamic quantities of ΔH = −58.9 ± 0.12 and −40.38 ± 0.11 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔS = −183 ± 10 and −130 ± 8 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ and ΔG = −4.4 ± 0.09 and −2.06 ± 0.08 kJ mol⁻¹ at 298 K for Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions, respectively. Using kinetic equations, values of intraparticle transport and of first order rate constant have been computed for both the metal ions. The sorption procedure is utilized to preconcentrate these ions prior to their determination in tea, vegetable oil, hydrogenated oil (ghee) and palm oil by atomic absorption spectrometry using direct and standard addition methods.     

Water transport in aluminium oxide-poly(ethylene-co-butyl acrylate) nanocomposites

Polymer composites with metal oxide nanoparticles are emerging materials for use as insulation in electrical applications. However, the extensive interfacial surfaces and the presence of polar groups on the particle surfaces make these composites susceptible to water sorption. Water sorption kinetics were studied at 23 °C and different relative humidities (18–90%) for composites based on poly(ethylene-co-butyl acrylate) and aluminium oxide (?12 wt.%); the latter being in three different forms: uncoated and coated with either octyltriethoxysilane or aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The equilibrium water uptake increased linearly with increasing overall concentration of polar groups on the nanoparticle surfaces. Composites with well-dispersed nanoparticles showed Fickian diffusion (constant diffusivity and invariant boundary conditions) with a diffusivity that decreased with increasing filler content; the maximum factorial decrease in diffusivity was 300 with reference to that of the pristine polymer. This effect was most pronounced for composites with accessible polar groups on the particle surfaces, suggesting that water saturation of the composites is retarded by dual water sorption. Composites that contained a sizeable fraction of large nanoparticle agglomerates showed a two-stage sorption process: a rapid process associated with the saturation of the matrix phase and a slow diffusion process due to water sorption by the large nanoparticle agglomerates.     

Henry's constants of n-alkanols (methanol through n-hexanol) in water at temperatures between 40°C and 90°C

Henry's constants of n-alkanols (methanol to n-hexanol) in water were measured at temperatures between 40°C and 90°C using a recently developed headspace gas chromatographic technique. The data were in good agreement with literature data when available. The consistency of the data was verified by comparing calculated partial molar enthalpies with calorimetric values. The temperature dependence of dimensionless Henry's constants was fitted with the classical van't Hoff equation and an empirical correlation was established for the dimensionless Henry's constants as a function of temperature and number of carbon atoms in the n-alkanol.     

Water and polymer dynamics in poly(hydroxyl ethyl acrylate-co-ethyl acrylate) copolymer hydrogels

Water and polymer dynamics in hydrogels based on random copolymers of hydrophilic poly(hydroxyl ethyl acrylate) (PHEA) and hydrophobic poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA), in wide ranges of composition, were investigated by means of two dielectric techniques, thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) and, mainly, broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) at several levels of relative humidity/water content. Water sorption of the hydrogels was studied by equilibrium sorption isotherms (ESI). Two secondary relaxations (γ and β_sw) and the primary (segmental) α relaxation associated with the glass transition of the copolymer matrix were followed and analyzed against copolymer composition and water content. The results show that the copolymers are homogeneous at nm scale, except at very high PEA content. Correlations were observed between results on the organization of water in the hydrogels and on water effects on polymer dynamics. Distinct changes in the dielectric response, in particular in the time scale and the dielectric strength of the β_sw relaxation, at the water content of the completion of the first hydration layer indicate that water molecules themselves contribute to the dielectric response at higher water contents. Proton conductivity of the hydrogels at various levels of water content was also studied and correlation to segmental dynamics (decoupling) was analyzed.