Abstract:
A process produces microporous powders or shaped articles, in particular membranes in the form of flat films, tubular films or hollow fibers, which may be used for controlled release of an active compound, for dialysis, gas separation, ultrafiltration or microfiltration, from polyvinylidene fluoride and/or polyphenylene sulfide and/or polysulfone and/or polyacrylonitrile and/or ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer and/or ethylene/chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer and/or polyethersulfone and/or polyether-imide and/or polymethyl methacrylate and/or polycarbonate and/or cellulose triacetate. The process utilizes phase separation by means of thermally induced triggering or triggering induced by a non-solvent of a solution of the polymer in a mixture containing .epsilon.-caprolactam as the essential dissolving constituent. The solution may be formed before the phase separation is triggered.
Abstract:
A process of producing a structural network from a semicrystalline, melt crystallizable polyarylene ether or polyarylene thioether comprising providing a molten mixture of at least one semicrystalline polymer in the presence of a melt plasticizer for the polymer which melt contains at least some polymer entities having a crystalline form, the total polymer concentration being between 5 and 50% by weight of the mixture of polymer and melt plasticizer, and heating the mixture of polymer and melt plasticizer at a heating rate of between 1.degree. C./hour and 1000.degree. C./hr, preferably between 10.degree. C./hour and 100.degree. C./hour until the mixture is at a temperature in the range 10.degree. C. below to 20.degree. C. above its clearing point and cooling the mixture until it solidifies whereby an open cell structure essentially free from granular superstructure is obtained.
Abstract:
Microporous membranes and methods for producing such membranes from ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene are described. The method employs extrusion of a solution of UHMW-PE and porogen through a forming die followed by thermal phase separation of polymer and porogen. Microporous structures are created by removing porogen. Microporous membranes produced include membranes with good permeability to air and water making them particularly useful as filtration media and water-resistance breathable membranes.
Abstract:
A method for providing anisotropic polymer membranes from a binary polymer/solvent solution using a thermal inversion process. A homogeneous binary solution is cast onto a support and cooled in such a way as to provide a differential in cooling rate across the thickness of the resulting membrane sheet. Isotropic or anisotropic structures of selected porosities can be produced, depending on the initial concentration of polymer in the selected solvent and on the extent of the differential in cooling rate. This differential results in a corresponding gradation in pore size. The method may be modified to provide a working skin by applying a rapid, high-temperature pulse to redissolve a predetermined thickness of the membrane at one of its faces and then freezing the entire structure.
Abstract:
The present invention discloses a method for preparing a microporous polyolefin film comprising: a step of injecting a composition comprising polyolefin 30 to 60 wt % and a diluent, which can make liquid-liquid phase separation with the polyolefin thermodynamically 40 to 70 wt %, into an extruding machine, and melting and kneading thereof to prepare a single phase melt; and a step of extruding the melt while conducting liquid-liquid phase separation by passing through a section having the temperature below the liquid-liquid phase separation temperature and forming thereof in the form of a sheet, and a microporous polyolefin film prepared according to the method.
Abstract:
The present invention refers to a porous PEEK-type polymer article comprising a porous PEEK-type polymer structure and presenting at least a trimodal pore distribution. The invention describes a process for the production of said porous PEEK-type polymer article comprising: a) contacting a PEEK-type polymer with a composition comprising at least a organic solvent, b) heating at a temperature at which the PEEK-type polymer is dissolved, c) adding at least a porogen agent, d) cooling the mixture obtained in c) at a temperature at least equal or lower than the temperature at which the PEEK-type polymer precipitates, e) forming said cooled mixture into a shaped article, f) removing the organic solvent and the porogen agent, and g) recovering the PEEK-type polymer article.
Abstract:
A microporous membrane is produced by cooling a solution comprising a vinylidene fluoride homopolymer or copolymer having a weight average molecular weight of 1null105 or more and a solvent therefor, to form a two-phase gel, said microporous membrane comprising a polymer phase comprising said vinylidene fluoride homopolymer or copolymer, and intercommunicating voids which have an average pore size measured by the half-dry method of 0.005 to 5 nullm and range from one side of the membrane to the other side, and said microporous membrane having as its internal structure a percolation structure in which the polymer phase forms an isotropic network structure by three-dimensional branching in arbitrary directions, the voids are formed by surrounding by said polymer phase of the network structure and intercommunicate with one another, and the ratio of the maximum pore size measured by the bubble point method to the average pore size measured by the half-dry method is 2.0 or less.
Abstract:
Microporous materials and articles are disclosed. The microporous materials contain a crystallizable propylene-containing polymer, a beta-nucleating agent, and a diluent that is miscible with the polymer at a temperature above the melting temperature of the polymer and that phase separates from the polymer at a temperature below the polymer crystallization temperature. The invention is also directed to methods of forming the microporous material using thermal induced phase separation and subsequent processing.
Abstract:
Briefly, in one aspect, the present invention provides puncture resistant microporous materials made of melt-processable semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymers. The microporous materials can be produced at relatively high rates and at low cost. Films and multilayer constructions made of the microporous materials and methods of making microporous materials also are provided.