| Abstract: | The kinetics and equilibria of SO2 sorption in Kapton polyimide film have been studied at temperatures from 25 to 55°C and equilibrium sorption pressures up to 0.76 atm. The data are described well by the dual-mode model of sorption and transport in glassy polymers. The assumption of “partial immobilization” is required to correlate the transport data: the mobility of the Langmuir component of the sorbed population relative to the Henry's-law component is close to zero at 25°C, and increases to roughly 5% of the Henry's-law component mobility at 55°C. The heat of sorption is anomalously low, suggesting the presence of residual solvent in the film, a suggestion confirmed by annealing studies. However, the study also shows that partial removal of the residual has a relatively minor effect on the measured SO2 sorption level and transport rates at 55°C. |
