Effect of sulfonation and diethanolamine addition on the mechanical and physicochemical properties of SEPS copolymer

Abstract

Modification techniques have been developed to achieve changes in the processing of polymers, and modification of their mechanical, thermal and morphological properties, as well as their hydrophobicity and conductivity. Sulfonation improves ion conductivity, antistatic behaviour, hydrophilicity and solubility of the polymers. These characteristics are related to the presence of sulfonic groups in the polymer matrix. This research project focuses on the evaluation of mechanical, physical and chemical properties of membranes that are based on a sulfonated Styrene-Ethylene-Propylene-Styrene (SEPS) copolymer. The membranes were functionalized with diethanolamine at 5, 15 and 30% w/w, to separate carbon dioxide. FTIR and XRD analyses were used to characterize the membranes. The sulfonated-loaded membrane with 15% of diethanolamine showed the best results in each characterization.