Abstract
On the basis of the particle growth concept proposed to explain polymeric membrane formation process by the phase separation method, an attempt was made (1) to establish a computer simulation method for constructing a three-dimensional multi-layered structure model of a membrane consisting of polymer particles, (2) to disclose a three-dimensional shape of through-pores, and (3) to establish relations between a probability of distributing a vacant particles in a site Pr* (i.e., porosity of a membrane) and existing probabilities of three kinds of pores such as through-, semi-open, and isolated pores, i.e., Pt, Ps, and Pi, respectively. In the simulation, number ratio of hypothetical vacant particles of polymer-lean phase to polymer particles of polymer-rich phase is predetermined by an apparent two-phase volume ratio RA(=V(1)A/V(2)A, where V(1)A and V(2)A are apparent volumes of polymer-lean and -rich phases in the membrane, respectively), which is estimated from an overall porosity of a membrane Pr. Particles are assumed for convenience to have the same radius of S2 and are arranged randomly on a hypothetical hexagonally close-packed lattice plane by Monte Carlo method. From study on the effects of number of layers of the model l and size of the layer s on relations between Pr* and Pt, Ps, and Pi, we concluded that it was enough for a three-dimensional model to have 20 layers, of which size is taken as 40 sites by 40 lines. Relations between Pr* and the existing probabilities Pt, Ps, and Pi constructed by the previous theory [S. Manabe, H. Iijima, and K. Kamide, Polym. J., 20, 307 (1988)] and those by the present simulation are compared and it is concluded that the previous approximate theory underestimates Pt (especially in the range of Pr* of 0.3 to 0.8) and Pi (especially at lower Pr*) significantly.
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References
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S. Manabe, H. Iijima, and K. Kamide, Polym. J., 20, 307 (1988).
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Iijima, H., Kataoka, A. & Kamide, K. Thermodynamics of Formation of Porous Polymeric Membrane by Phase Separation Method V. Probabilities of Finding Through-, Semi-Open, and Isolated Pores in Three-Dimensional Membrane Structure Model Constructed by Computer Simulation Experiment. Polym J 27, 1033–1043 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.27.1033
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.27.1033
