Membranes of semicrystalline aliphatic polyamide nylon 4,6: Formation by diffusion-induced phase separation

The preparation of membranes of nylon 4,6 by diffusion-induced phase separation (DIPS) using formic acid as a solvent and water as a nonsolvent was studied. Nylon 4,6 is a semi-crystalline polymer; phase separation from a solution can occur by solid-liquid (s-l) de-mixing as well as by liquid-liquid (l-l) demixing. Upon quenching films of solutions with low polymer concentration (< 17 wt %) in a nonsolvent bath containing water, the morphology of the membranes show a foam-like structure typical for l-l demixing. When phase separation is induced by water vapor a transition in structure occurs from the cellular type to a morphology typical for s-l phase separated films. At higher polymer concentrations membranes exhibit structures consisting of spheres or smaller crystal-like units resulting from an s-l phase separation process. The addition of 2 wt % or more of water to polymer solutions with low concentration (up to 15 wt %) resulted in s-l demixing as well. In a DIPS process s-l demixing is kinetically competitive with l-l demixing if nuclei are already present in the starting solutions (heterogeneous nucleation), or if a relatively long time is available for crystal nuclei to be formed. The morphology resulting from s-l demixing is a result of spherulitic crystallization. A certain concentration of nuclei or of precursor particles already present results in a small nucleation density during precipitation and thus large spherulites can be grown; at higher polymer and/or water concentrations the nucleation density increases resulting in an axialitic morphology of the membranes

Recent advances in the formation of phase inversion membranes made from amorphous or semi-crystalline polymers

Structural characteristics in membranes formed by diffusion induced phase separation processes are discussed. Established theories on membrane formation from ternary systems can be extended to describe the effects of high or low molecular weight additives. A mechanism for the formation of nodular structures in the top layer of ultrafiltration membranes is presented. In the last part structures arising from polymer crystallization during immersion precipitation are discussed

A research approach to designing chemistry education using authentic practices

We discuss how to reduce the incongruence between the outcomes (both cognitive and affective) of the conventional secondary chemistry curriculum and what is to be attained: the meaningful connection of students’ learning to daily life and societal issues. This problem is addressed by a design study with one curriculum unit about “Water Quality”. With several research cycles using developmental research, we developed an emergent understanding about an instructional framework for curriculum units that embodies a coherent “need‐to‐know” principle and is based on authentic practices. Using this framework we show with some other examples how a context‐based chemistry curriculum can be constructed based on the developed “need‐to‐know” principl

Diffusion induced phase separation with crystallizable nylons. II. Relation to final membrane morphology

Intermediate stages during membrane formation by means of immersion precipitation were studied by cryo-substitution for the system nylon 4,6, formic acid and water. The presence, nature and size of solid particles was determined as a function of time and of the distance from the interface. The spherulitic nature of these particles was confirmed by staining the samples. It was shown that at a relatively low nucleation density the concentration profile in the film was hardly influenced by a starting phase separation process, while in a situation with a relatively high number of nuclei per volume concentration patterns must be considerable altered

Diffusion induced phase separation with crystallizable nylons. II. Relation to final membrane morphology

Intermediate stages during membrane formation by means of immersion precipitation were studied by cryo-substitution for the system nylon 4,6, formic acid and water. The presence, nature and size of solid particles was determined as a function of time and of the distance from the interface. The spherulitic nature of these particles was confirmed by staining the samples. It was shown that at a relatively low nucleation density the concentration profile in the film was hardly influenced by a starting phase separation process, while in a situation with a relatively high number of nuclei per volume concentration patterns must be considerable altered

Membranes of semicrystalline aliphatic polyamide nylon 4,6: formation by diffusion-induced phase separation

The preparation of membranes of nylon 4,6 by diffusion-induced phase separation (DIPS) using formic acid as a solvent and water as a nonsolvent was studied. Nylon 4,6 is a semi-crystalline polymer; phase separation from a solution can occur by solid-liquid (s-l) de-mixing as well as by liquid-liquid (l-l) demixing. Upon quenching films of solutions with low polymer concentration (< 17 wt %) in a nonsolvent bath containing water, the morphology of the membranes show a foam-like structure typical for l-l demixing. When phase separation is induced by water vapor a transition in structure occurs from the cellular type to a morphology typical for s-l phase separated films. At higher polymer concentrations membranes exhibit structures consisting of spheres or smaller crystal-like units resulting from an s-l phase separation process. The addition of 2 wt % or more of water to polymer solutions with low concentration (up to 15 wt %) resulted in s-l demixing as well. In a DIPS process s-l demixing is kinetically competitive with l-l demixing if nuclei are already present in the starting solutions (heterogeneous nucleation), or if a relatively long time is available for crystal nuclei to be formed. The morphology resulting from s-l demixing is a result of spherulitic crystallization. A certain concentration of nuclei or of precursor particles already present results in a small nucleation density during precipitation and thus large spherulites can be grown; at higher polymer and/or water concentrations the nucleation density increases resulting in an axialitic morphology of the membranes

Diffusion induced phase separation with crystallizable nylons. I. Mass transfer processes for nylon 4,6

Mass transfer during membrane formation by means of phase inversion for a polymeric system with both a solid-liquid and a liquid-liquid equilibrium was studied on the basis of the theory developed by Reuvers and Smolders. During the first moments of immersion in the coagulation bath, the concentrations at the interface between bath and film are governed by the virtual liquid-liquid equilibrium. This equilibrium no longer exists at a larger time scale. The interfacial concentrations as a result of the local liquid-liquid equilibrium during mass transfer are located deeply in the crystallization region or solid-liquid demixing area and after an induction time the solid-liquid phase separation (crystallization) takes place when membranes are formed with an initial polymer concentration of 20% or larger. The calculated initial concentration profiles show a shallow pattern in polymer content for the films with initial concentration of 20 and 25%. From the calculated initial concentration profiles an isotropic morphology in the final membrane can beexpected. A steep increase of the polymer concentration at the interface was observed for the more concentrated filmscorrelated with a skinned morphology in the final membrane

Chemistry Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching and Learning of Chemistry in the Context of Curriculum Innovation in The Netherlands

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