Before going into the details of what interfacial polymerization is, let's clarify what polymerization is. It is a chemical process that creates chain-like bonds containing monomers.
- You can find more details about polymerization in this short article: what is polymerization?
Interfacial polymerization
It consists in the formation of a thin layer of polyamide at the interface, which is the zone separating the polymer from its surface where it is placed. When two reactive monomers react at the organic/aqueous interface, a thin layer of polyamide is formed. Since the reagents used are self-inhibiting in nature and the input is controlled, the polyamide layers are typically 100 to 300 nm thick.
By changing the monomers used for interfacial polymerization, the thickness and morphology of the polyamide formed can be adjusted to suit the application.
When is interfacial polymerization used?
Ce procédé est principalement utilisé pour le secteur du traitement d’eau, d’où la raison de cet article sur notre site! La PI sert dans la fabrication des membranes d’osmose inverse ou de nanofiltration les plus populaires sur le marché.
Specifically, during the manufacturing of thin-film composite membranes or thin-film nanocomposite membranes, interfacial polymerization is used to create the semipermeable polyamide layer on the membrane.
To sum up, we hope that these explanations have enlightened you about this technique used for the production of water treatment membranes. Do not hesitate to write to us if you have any questions.
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