Journal of Supercritical Fluids, Vol.62, 211-218, 2012
Phase behavior of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-poly(ethylene oxide) amphiphilic block and graft copolymers in compressed carbon dioxide
The phase behavior of triblock and graft-type poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) copolymer surfactants has been investigated in compressed carbon dioxide (CO2). For this purpose, cloud-point pressures have been measured in the pressure and temperature range from P=10 to 40 MPa and from T= 293 to 338 K. The Perturbed-Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) equation of state (EoS) has been applied to model the experimental data in order to better understand the influence of the structure of the copolymers on the phase behavior of the system. The pure-component parameters for PDMS have been fitted originally to PDMS/n-pentane system. These parameters are successfully applied for PDMS in CO2 by adjusting a temperature-dependent binary interaction parameter. The phase behavior of the triblock copolymers was successfully predicted by PC-SAFT. In contrast, the phase behavior of the graft copolymers was difficult to predict accurately at this stage. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Block and graft copolymers;Poly(dimethylsiloxane);Poly(ethylene oxide);Trade surfactants;Compressed CO2;Cloud-point pressure;PC-SAFT