Multicomponent diffusion of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene in polyisobutylene from vapor sorption FTIR-ATR spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, diffusion coefficients of toluene/methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) mixtures in polyisobutylene were measured at 50°C using vapor sorption FTIR-ATR (Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total Reflectance) spectroscopy. For three mixture compositions, the diffusion coefficients were determined using a diffusion framework for ternary systems. The “crossterm” diffusion coefficient for MEK was found to be very small under the experimental conditions studied here, while that for toluene was found to increase with increasing MEK concentration. On the basis of this finding, a binary diffusion model was used to determine diffusion coefficients for MEK over a wide range of mixture compositions and the results compared well with those determined from pure MEK transport data. Relative transport rates during integral sorption experiments with mixtures were used to explain the results. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 337–344, 1998