ABSTRACT
A variety of polymer membranes have been investigated for pervaporation separation. Polymer membranes based on a single polymeric component, such as hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), may have significant pervaporation selectivity, but are often restricted by other required material properties. Semi- and interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) membranes are highly promising materials for applications as pervaporation membranes because of their superb comprehensive properties. Hydrophilic IPN membranes consisting of polyvinylchloride and polyacrylamide (PAAM), both unsupported and supported on polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes, are also studied. Relative to crosslinked PVA membranes, the PVA-PAAM IPN membranes possess greatly enhanced mechanical properties and selectivity for pervaporation of ethanol–water mixtures. The chapter describes systematic studies in the preparation and assessment of semi-IPN and IPN membranes. The PDMS-polystyrene IPN membranes exhibit superior mechanical properties and film-forming capability as compared to the crosslinked PDMS membranes.
