Diffusion coefficient calculated by time-lag using the film-roll method

Abstract

A method for determining the diffusion coefficient by time-lag using the film-roll method for the sublimation diffusion of disperse dye was proposed. A polyethylene terephthalate film-roll coated with dye paste was treated at 170–190°C for various times. A solution consisting of the sum of a steady-state solution and a transient solution was obtained by the homogeneous boundary value problem from a trigonometrical series. The boundary conditions of the steady-state first layer and the steady-state first layer amount of dye were determined from the steady-state concentration distribution. For various diffusion times, the steady-state first layer-passed total amounts of dye that passed through the first layer in the steady-state condition were obtained by subtracting the steady-state first layer amounts from the total amounts. The time-lag was calculated from the linear regression line for the plot of the steady-state first layer-passed total number(X) of positive values against time. The diffusion coefficient was calculated by the boundary conditions of the steady-state first layer and the time-lag. For diffusion at 170°C, 180°C, and 190°C, the correlations of the steady-state first layer-passed total amounts with respect to time were very linear and the reliability of the diffusion coefficients obtained by the time-lag was proved by the good linearity of the Arrhenius plot. The activation energy obtained was 36.8 kcal[Formula: see text]mol−1.