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In Situ FT‐IR Spectroscopy Investigation of the Water Sorption of Amphiphilic PDMS Crosslinked Networks
Author(s) -
La Manna Pietro,
Musto Pellegrino,
Galli Giancarlo,
Martinelli Elisa
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201600585
Subject(s) - amphiphile , penetrant (biochemical) , sorption , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , polymer , polymer chemistry , thermal diffusivity , chemical engineering , ethylene glycol , water vapor , in situ , chemistry , materials science , copolymer , organic chemistry , physics , adsorption , quantum mechanics , engineering
An amphiphilic poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) network is obtained by incorporation of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrophilic side chains within the hydrophobic matrix with the objective of improving the water affinity characteristics of the unmodified PDMS network. Sorption of water as a function of relative pressure of water vapor is investigated by in situ Fourier‐transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy. This experimental technique supplies information on the molecular interaction established between the penetrant and the polymer substrate and identifies the occurrence of self‐association between water molecules (clustering). Self‐association of penetrant increases with the concentration of water in the amphiphilic network. The overall diffusivity slightly decreases with increasing water concentration, likely due to the clustering effect. The maximum amount of water sorbed at equilibrium is low (<0.3 wt%), but significantly larger than that of the unmodified network.