Low gas permeability

Much of the success of the poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottle has arisen from the control of the biaxial orientation that occurs during manufacture to give a product both strong and of low gas permeability. 

Copolymers of acrylonitrile and vinylidene chloride have been used for many years to produce films of low gas permeability, often as a coating on another material. Styrene-acrylonitrile with styrene as the predominant free monomer (SAN polymers) has also been available for a long time. In the 1970s materials were produced which aimed to provide a compromise between the very low gas permeability of poly(vinylidene chloride) and poly(acrylonitrile) with the processability of polystyrene or SAN polymers (discussed more fully in Chapter 16). These became known as nitrile resins. 

The layers in the plate-like structure of talc are Joined by very weak van der Waals forces, and therefore delamination at low shear stress is produced. The plate-like structure provides high resistivity, and low gas permeability to talc-filled polymers. Furthermore, talc has several other structure-related unique properties low abrasiveness, lubricating effect, and hydrophobic character. Hydrophobicity can be increased by surface coating with zinc stearate. 

Polyesters exhibit excellent physical properties. They have high tensile strength, high modulus, they maintain excellent tensile properties at elevated temperatures, and have a high heat distortion temperature. They are thermally stable, have low gas permeability and low electrical conductivity. For these reasons, polyesters are considered engineering polymers. 

Washed and ground, natural mica of 200-300 mesh acts as a laminar filler, giving good heat resistance and low gas permeability... 

Because of its low gas permeability, PVA has excellent flavour-retaining properties [18],... 

Dual lifetime referencing (DLR) is another powerful technique that enables referenced measurements in case of fluorescent indicators [23]. In this method, the analyte-dependent signal from an indicator is referenced against the signal from an inert luminophore. This can be realized in both the time domain [24] and in the frequency domain [25]. Often, a luminescent reference dye is embedded into gas blocking nanobeads to avoid oxygen quenching. Polymers with very low gas permeability such as poly(acrylonitrile) [24] or poly(vinylidene chloride-co-acry-lonitrile) [26] are the best choice here. 

Specific applications relating to low gas permeability, pharmacopoeia compliance, damping properties. 

PP/IIR-V is marketed to compete with conventional butyl rubber thanks to its low gas permeability, compliance with the pharmacopoeia and, secondarily, its damping properties. 

PP/IIR-V is appreciated for its low gas permeability combined with compliance with the pharmacopoeia, fair compression sets, the rubber-like hardness range, low density, low-temperature behaviour, fair ageing resistance, sterilization resistance, damping properties, ease of waste recycling... 

PP/IIR-V targets specific applications relating to low gas permeability, pharmacopoeia compliance, and/or damping properties. Consumption is inferior to that of PP/EPDM-V. 

Amorphous isoprene largely 1,4 isomer good chemical inertness, low gas permeability, high viscoelastic response to stresses, less sensitive to oxidative aging than most isoprene rubbers better ozone stability than NR good solvent resistance... 

Poly-isobutylene (PIB) is a very useful rubber because of its very low gas permeability. Co-polymerised with small amounts of isoprene (to enable vulcanisation with sulphur) to butyl rubber (HR), it is the ideal rubber for inner tubes. If PIB would crystallise, it could not be used as a technical rubber The same holds for the rubbers BR and IR. 

Copolymers of ethylene and norbomene exhibit excellent transparency, high moisture barrier, high strength and stiffness, and low shrinkage. In comparison to poly(ethylene) (PE) and polypropylene) (PP), they show a very low gas permeability. They are used for blister packaging in pharmacy applications and for flexible films for food packaging. Multilayer films consisting of PP outer layers and a cyclic olefin copolymer are in use. 

LLDPE resins formulated for the blow molding applications have superior environmental stress-cracking resistance and low gas permeability. These features opened new bottle markets where such properties are important. A large variety of molded articles with a complex configuration... 

Interfacial polymerization membranes are widely used in reverse osmosis and nanofiltration but not for gas separation because of the water-swollen hydrogel that fills the pores of the support membrane. In reverse osmosis, this layer is hydrated and offers little resistance to water flow, but when the membrane is dried for use in gas separation the gel becomes a rigid glass with very low gas permeability. This glassy polymer fills the membrane pores and, as a result, defect-free... 

PVOH (or tradename PVAL) is a crystalline, white powder soluble in water and alcohols. It is characterized by water solubility, low gas permeability barrier, high resistance to organic solvents other than alcohol, and crystallinity when stretch oriented. Crystallinity allows the material to polarize light. A series of hydrolysis levels of the plastic are available that range from room temperature solubility to those not soluble at all. The major applications of the PVOHs are in elastomeric products, adhesives, films, and finishes. Extruded PVOH hoses and tubing are excellent for use subjected to contact with oils and other chemicals. PVOH is used as a sizing in the manufacture of nylon. 

CSPE have excellent combinations of properties that include total resistance to ozone excellent resistance to abrasion, weather resistance even in light colors, heat, flame, oxidizing chemical, solvents, crack growth, and dielectric properties. Also provide low moisture absorption, resistance to oil similar to neoprene, low temperature flexibility is fair at -40C (-40F), low gas permeability for an elastomer and good adhesion to substrates. Can be made into a wide range of colors. Use includes hoses, roll covers, tank liners, wire and cable covers, footware, and building products (flash, sealing, etc.). 

Grades of butyl differ by the level of unsaturation, molar masses characterized by Mooney viscosity ML 1 + 8 (100 or 125° C), and the characteristics of the eventually added stabilizer (staining or nonstaining). Butyl rubber, which ranks third in total synthetic elastomers consumed, has unique properties and applications, due to its low gas permeability, to its high hysteresis, and to its low level of unsaturation, sufficient for vulcanization but still providing excellent resistance to oxygen and ozone. 

The electrolyte membrane presents critical materials issues such as high protonic conductivity over a wide relative humidity (RH) range, low electrical conductivity, low gas permeability, particularly for H2 and O2, and good mechanical properties under wet-dry and temperature cycles has stable chemical properties under fuel cell oxidation conditions and quick start-up capability even at subfreezing temperatures and is low cost. Polyperfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) and derivatives are the current first-choice materials. A key challenge is to produce this material in very thin form to reduce ohmic losses and material cost. PFSA ionomer has low dimensional stability and swells in the presence of water. These properties lead to poor mechanical properties and crack growth. 

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