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Relationship between the separation performances and free volume distributions of polyimide/Ag 3 O 4 composite membranes
Author(s) -
Shi Baoli,
Feng Chunsheng,
Wu Yonglie
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.21291
Subject(s) - polyimide , membrane , materials science , phase inversion , polymer chemistry , composite number , ether , methanol , acetone , swelling , composite material , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , biochemistry , layer (electronics) , engineering
First, water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, and methyl t ‐butyl ether were used as molecular probes to measure the free volume distribution of a type of polyimide membrane material (HQDEA–DMMDA). The methods were equilibrium swelling and separation membrane technologies. From the Kirchheim theory of free volume distribution, a Gaussian distribution function was determined. The Gaussian distribution function was confirmed with tensile testing and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction of the polyimide films. Second, polyimide/Ag 3 O 4 composite hollow‐fiber membranes were prepared by dry/wet phase inversion. The separation performances of the composite membranes were characterized with a methanol/methyl t ‐butyl ether mixture. The change in the separation performances was explained by the free volume distribution function very well. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 871–879, 2005