POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) POLYCARBONATE MEMBRANE FOR GAS SEPARATION

The miscibility of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with polycarbonate (PC) polymer has been extensively studied, and emphasis was placed on the preparation conditions and the composition effects. The effect of added metal salt on the miscibility and the gas permeability of the P MMA/PC blend membrane was investigated. Trends of gas permeabilities a nd selectivities for PMMA/PC-rich blend membranes are similar to the m iscible blend membranes, although the former membranes are translucent . The added metal salt complex modification effectively improved the m iscibility of the PMMA/PC-rich blend membrane as evidenced from dynami c mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies. T he gas permeabilities of the added metal salt complexes of PMMA/PC-ric h and PMMA-rich/PC blend membranes are higher than those of the corres ponding noncomplexing blend membranes. Wide-angle x-ray diffraction an alysis was made to study the difference of crystallinity for the effec t of blend miscibility and salt additivity on PMMA/PC blend membranes.