Water‐swelling behavior of an ethylene–vinyl alcohol copolymer in the presence of sorbed sodium chloride

Abstract

AbstractThe swelling behavior of water in a poly(ethylene–vinyl alcohol) copolymer (70 mol % vinyl alcohol) has been characterized at 25°C by vapor and liquid sorption experiments over a range of water activities. The activity of the vapor phase has been varied by incrementing the pressure of the water vapor in the sorption cell. Alternatively, for the liquid phase experiments, aqueous sodium chloride solutions of different concentrations have been used to vary systematically the activity of the water in the salt solution and to introduce various concentrations of salt into the copolymer films. Relaxation‐controlled sorption and Fickian diffusion have been observed as limiting cases of the water sorption behavior at high and low water activities, respectively. The effects of sorbed sodium chloride on water vapor sorption kinetics and equilibria were determined independently. A second salt phase forms within the previously homogeneous and seemingly single phase polymeric system, upon contacting the salt‐loaded film with a water vapor activity above a threshold value corresponding to the activity of water in the salt solution used to introduce the salt into the films. The water and salt solubilities in the ethylene–vinyl alcohol copolymer have been measured systematically to describe the complex sorption equilibria associated with this three‐component, multiphase system.