Gas Permeabilities of Plasma Polymerized Films : Temperature Dependence Study
Composite membranes were prepared by the deposition of pentafluoropyridine(PFP) or pentafluorotoluene(PFT) plasma films onto porous Celgard and nonporous poly(dimethylsiloxane) [PDMS] films. Gas permeation measurements for the composite membranes were made in the temperature range of 35˚C to 75 ˚C and the solubilities in plasma polymers were measured using a Cahn Microbalance. The permeability coefficients of plasma polymers obeyed the Arrhenius relationship fairly wall. Activation energies for permeation in the plasma films increased with the size of penetrant molecules. The activation energy of plasma polymers was much lower than that of commonly used perfluoropolymers. This difference was proved to be attributable to the much lower heat of solutions of the plasma polymers compared to perfluoropolymers. The diffusion activation energies were comparable with each other.