| Abstract: | The kinetics and equilibria of SO2 sorption in Kapton polyimide film have been measured at 25°C for pressures up to 58 cm Hg using a quartz spring balance. The observed equilibria are described well by the dual-mode model for sorption of penetrants in glassy polymers. Observed hysteresis in sorption-desorption cycling indicates that the diffusivity of SO2 increases markedly with increasing local penetrant concentration in the polymer. The concentration dependence of the effective average diffusion coefficient is described well by an expression from dual-mode theory. The Langmuir component of the sorption population has an extremely low mobility compared to that of the Henry's law component; in fact, the so-called “total immobilization” limiting case, which assigns a zero diffusion coefficient to this component, appears to be satisfactory under the conditions studied. These results, coupled with published results for other penetrants, suggest that the degree of immobilization of the Langmuir population depends to a great extent on the condensability and/or the molecular size of the penetrant. Predictions of the SO2 diffusion time lag and permeability in Kapton as functions of the upstream SO2 pressure are presented and discussed in terms of the dual-mode theory. |
