Interaction of supercritical carbon dioxide with polymers .1. Crystalline polymers

Supercritical fluid (SCF) technology involving carbon dioxide is recently receiving wide attention due to its vast potential application in various fields such as cleaning, extraction, synthesis, etc., in addition to its environmental benefits. To fully exploit the use of SCFs in new technologies, it is important to understand how SCFs interact with materials. To this end, we have undertaken a systematic study involving a wide pressure and temperature range to investigate the interaction of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) with nine different crystalline polymers, namely, substituted anti unsubstituted polyethylene (four varieties), polypropylene, nylon 66, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(oxymethylene), and poly(vinylidine fluoride). Critical factors such as changes in appearance and weight, temperature, pressure and time of the supercritical fluid treatment, and dimension of samples have been observed. The influence of SC CO2 on the thermal properties of treated polymers has been investigated through TGA analysis. Further, changes in the mechanical properties such as yield strength, ultimate elongation, and modulus of elasticity of the investigated crystalline polymers were also observed. A discussion has been included to show the possible implications of the observed changes in realizing various applications. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.