Organophosphorus Polyurethane Ionomers as Water Vapor Permeable and Pervaporation Membranes

Organophosphorus polyurethane ionomers (AEPA-PU) based on aminoethers of ortho-phosphoric acid (AEPA) were obtained and studied as pervaporation membrane materials for separating isopropanol/water mixtures. The regularities of the change in the water vapor permeability of AEPA-PU were also investigated. It has been established that an increase of solute content in the composition of the urethane-forming system and the content of ionogenic groups in AEPA leads to a noticeable increase in the vapor permeability of the resulting film materials. An increase in water vapor permeability values is accompanied by a significant increase in the pervaporation characteristics of AEPU-PU. It was shown that the conditions promoting clustering of phosphate anions cause an increase in the values of the vapor permeability coefficient of AEPA-PU obtained using polyoxypropylene glycol. However, the hydrophobicity of the polypropylene glycol surrounding the clusters makes it difficult for water to move through the polymer matrix. Due to the hydrophilicity of polyoxyethylene glycol, the highest values of water vapor permeability and pervaporation characteristics are achieved for AEPA-PU synthesized using PEG.