Gas and water vapour transport in a polyketone terpolymer

Gas and water vapour transport properties of a polyketone terpolymer (0.93/0.07/1 ethylene/propylene/carbon monoxide) have been investigated and related to the polymer structure. Permeability tests have been performed at several temperatures (from 25 to about 65°C) with five different gases (oxygen, nitrogen, methane, ethane and carbon dioxide), evaluating permeabilities, diffusivities and solubilities. Their dependence on temperature was interpreted on the basis of apparent activation energies of permeation and diffusion (E_P and E_D) and of heats of solution (ΔH_S). The investigated polymer was found to be rubbery at the test temperatures (glass transition temperature is about 17°C), but the detected permeabilities are comparable to those of the glassy polymers widely used for packaging applications. Data obtained in this investigation on samples exposed to moulding temperatures (240°C) for 3 min were compared to gas permeation data (presented in a previous paper) obtained for samples exposed at that temperature for 33 min in order to assess possible effects on gas transport properties. Water vapour transport was analysed by performing both sorption (35, 34, 55 and 65°C) and permeation (35°C) experiments at several activities. The analysis of sorption isotherms revealed the occurrence of water clustering, which was confirmed by a reduction of water diffusivity as a function of water concentration in the polymer.