Infrared spectroscopic studies of CO2 sorbed in glassy and rubbery polymeric membranes

Infrared spectra of CO₂ sorbed in rubbery and glassy polymers were measured to examine the relationships between the spectroscopic data and physical properties of the polymeric membranes. The “V-shape” tendency in the plot of W₁ i.e., half-width of CO₂ peak sorbed in the membranes] vs glass-transition temperature (T_g) is observed, and has exactly the same tendency that is widely known from the plot of log D (diffusion coefficient) vs T_g. It is suggested that the membranes having a wider W₁ give a faster diffusion coefficient, since W₁ is inversely related to the moment of inertia of CO₂ in the membranes. Two distinct peaks of CO₂ were not observed in the infrared spectra of CO₂ sorbed in the glassy polymers. This suggests that the states of CO₂ in the Henry mode and Langmuir mode in the glassy polymers are similar in the spectroscopic measurements. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.