Swelling of Ultrathin Molecular Layer-by-Layer Polyamide Water Desalination Membranes

Published

September 30, 2013

Author(s)

Edwin P. Chan, Allison P. Young, Jung-Hyun Lee, Christopher M. Stafford

Abstract

The water vapor swelling behavior of ultrathin crosslinked aromatic polyamide films, synthesized via molecular layer-by-layer deposition, is characterized via specular X-ray reflectivity. The results show that these films expand only along the thickness direction and their maximum swelling ratio can be controlled by the specific diamine monomer chemistry. By measuring the swelling ratio as a function of water activity, the network parameters (Flory interaction parameter and monomer units between crosslinks) of these polyamides are characterized using the classical Flory-Rehner and the Painter-Shenoy thermodynamic swelling models. Comparing the monomer units between crosslink calculated from the swelling theories with values obtain from chemical analysis show that the Painter-Shenoy model gives a more accurate description of the polyamide networks investigated.

Citation

Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics

Volume

51

Issue

22

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

membrane, swelling, network, x-ray reflectivity, water, reverse osmosis

Citation

Chan, E. , Young, A. , Lee, J. and Stafford, C. (2013), Swelling of Ultrathin Molecular Layer-by-Layer Polyamide Water Desalination Membranes, Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics (Accessed March 13, 2025)