Pure and mixed gas acetone/nitrogen permeation properties of polydimethylsiloxane [PDMS]

The permeability of polydimethylsiloxane [PDMS] to acetone, nitrogen, and acetone/nitrogen mixtures has been determined at 28°C. In pure gas experiments, the permeability of PDMS to nitrogen was 245 × 10^-10 cm³ (STP) · cm/cm² ·s · cmHg and was independent of pressure. The permeability of PDMS to acetone vapor increased exponentially with increasing acetone pressure. PDMS is much more permeable to acetone than to nitrogen; acetone/nitrogen selectivity increases from 85 to 185 as acetone partial pressure in the feed increases from 0 to 67% of saturation. In mixed gas permeation experiments, the nitrogen permeability coefficient is independent of acetone relative pressure and is equal to the pure gas permeability coefficient. The acetone permeability coefficient has the same value in both mixed gas and pure acetone permeation experiments. Average acetone diffusivity in PDMS, determined as the ratio of permeability to solubility, decreases with increasing acetone concentration due to mild clustering of acetone in the polymer (because acetone is a poor solvent for PDMS) and changes in the polymer-penetrant thermodynamic interactions which influence diffusion coefficients. A Zimm-Lundberg analysis of the acetone sorption isotherm is also consistent with acetone clustering in PDMS.