Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.52, No.26, 9137-9144, 2013
Interfacial Polymerization of Functional Paper: Morphology of the Nylon Film Prepared on Paper Surfaces
The aim of this study was to control the preparation of novel functional papers. The morphology of the polyamide (nylon-2,8) prepared on the paper surface using interfacial polymerization was investigated. After impregnation with ethylenediamine (EDA) solution and NaOH solution, filter paper was placed in a beaker containing organic solvent (cyclohexane, chloroform, or cyclohexane-chloroform solvents (volume ratio = 3:1, 1:1, 1:3), a mixture of terephthaloyl chloride, and trimesoyl chloride. When cyclohexane was used as the organic solvent, a nylon-2,8 capsule structure formed on the paper surface. For cyclohexane-chloroform solvents, the nylon-2,8 morphologies were fibrous or porous according to the EDA concentration and the organic solvent type. These results were attributed to differences in the spreading coefficient (5) of the organic EDA solution adsorbed on the paper surface and the partition coefficient (P) shown by the dispersion of EDA fixed on the paper from the aqueous phase to the organic phase. Acetaldehyde adsorption was also dependent on the morphology of the nylon-2,8. Optimum conditions for this study were found to be 10% EDA and a cyclohexane:chloroform ratio = 3:1. Interfacial polymerization reaction is a novel and effective technique for preparing functional paper.