Solubility of carbon dioxide, methane, and propane in silicone polymers: Effect of polymer side chains

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Abstract
The solubility of methane, carbon dioxide, and propane in five silicone polymers was measured at 10.0, 35.0 and 55.0°C and at pressures up to 26 atm. The polymers were poly(dimethyl siloxane), poly(methyl propyl siloxane), poly(methyl octyl siloxane), poly(trifluoropropyl methyl siloxane), and poly(phenyl methyl siloxane). At a given temperature and pressure, the solubility of the penetrant gases decreases with increasing bulkiness of the polymer side chains, and with decreasing critical temperature of the penetrant. The solubility of carbon dioxide in poly(trifluoropropyl methyl siloxane) appears to be anomalously high, possibly because of specific penetrant/polymer interactions. The temperature and pressure dependence of the solubility coefficients for the penetrant/polymer systems studied are described, and different methods of correlating these coefficients are compared.

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