METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FILM-COMPOSITED MATERIAL

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a film-composited material, which method is applicable even to a low-solubility polymeric material, can easily form a thick coating film, does not suffer from particle agglomeration, does not require much energy consumption, can re-utilize the fluid used by recirculation, and can realize a uniform film composition. SOLUTION: A film-forming material is held in a dissolution tank. A base material is held in a film formation tank. While the film formation tank is kept in a state in which the pressure in its inside is lower than that in the dissolution tank, a supercritical fluid is fed into the dissolution tank to dissolve the film-forming material, and the supercritical fluid in which the film-forming material is dissolved is fed from the side of the dissolution tank to the side of a film formation tank by the differential pressure between the dissolution tank and the film formation tank. By controlling the solubility of the film-forming material in the supercritical fluid by adjusting the differential pressure, the film-forming material is allowed to deposit on the surface of the base material. The fluid is returned from the film formation tank to the dissolution tank to continuously recirculate the fluid within the recirculation passage including the dissolution tank and the film-forming tank while keeping at least the passage between the dissolution tank and the film formation tank in a supercritical state. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT