Obtenção e caracterização de membranas de nanocompósitos de poliamida 6 e argila a partir de solvente aquoso

Abstract

The number of research on membranes has been constantly increasing as it is a material that plays an important role in the separation area. Membranes are divided into two large groups: dense and porous and, according to their morphological characteristics, they can also be divided into anisotropic or isotropic. As the object of study of this research, the synthetic membranes of polyamide 6 (PA6) and PA6 nanocomposite with different contents of national clay (1%, 3%, and 5%) were analyzed, which were obtained through the phase inversion method by solvent precipitation. The solvent used was formic acid 85%, which has a higher water content in its composition. The samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (DRX), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Steam Permeation. By the DRX method, it was possible to observe the characteristic peak of the material relating to polyamide 6, which is considered a semi-crystalline polymer. Also, it was observed that some samples showed an exfoliated or partially exfoliated structure. With the SEM data, it was possible to analyze how the pore distribution was and the impact that the clay concentration had on the membrane morphology. Through the FTIR data, it was possible to detect the presence of clay and to analyze whether it modified the polymer's characteristic band. Finally, with the steam permeation test, it was observed that the presence of the clay was favorable for increasing the permeability. As a result, through the analyzes performed, it was possible to identify the composition that had the best performance.