Macrovoid growth during polymer membrane casting

The Solutocapillary Convection (SC) hypothesis contends that macrovoid (MV) growth in dry-cast membranes is governed by a solutal-Marangoni convection-induced force caused by the rapid evaporation of volatile solvent from the liquid/gas interface, a viscous drag force, and a gravity-induced buoyancy force. Two different sets of experiments using the cellulose acetate-acetone-water system were conducted to test the SC hypothesis. Membranes were cast aboard a KC-135 aircraft that enabled short periods of microgravity (∼0-g) as well as 2-g conditions. The studied process variables included the solvent/non-solvent (S:NS) ratio, surface tension, and the magnitude of the body force (buoyancy). SEM analysis of the resulting membrane morphologies indicated that the MV morphology was strongly influenced by the S:NS ratio. However, dependence of MV size and number density on the buoyancy force could not be established. In the second set of experiments, videomicroscopy flow-visualization (VMFV) was utilized to measure fluid velocities at the MV/casting-solution interface and in the bulk solution. The magnitude of the solutocapillary convection was controlled via surfactant additions. A comparison of the ratio of the edge to the bulk velocity for MVs made from surfactant-free and surfactant-containing casting solutions did not provide evidence of a statistically significant surfactant effect. However, the presence of the surfactant did affect the MV number density. In addition, the presence of tracer particles inside the MVs indicated that a convective flow enables their transfer from the bulk to the interior of the MV.