Date of Award
10-11-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (MSChE)
Department
Chemical Engineering
First Advisor
Marissa Tousley
Second Advisor
Adam Nolte
Third Advisor
Michelle Marincel Payne
Abstract
The development of high-performance cellulose acetate thin-film composite membranes will be essential to solving the growing water scarcity problems. To do this, understanding the fundamental structure of thin cellulosic films and its relation to transport is essential. In this work, thin cellulose acetate butyrate films were fabricated at varying thickness and treatments, such as soaking and plasticizer treatment. Their mechanical properties were analyzed using a surface wrinkling approach, and their hygroscopic properties were measured using swelling measurements and surface wrinkling under humid conditions. This work demonstrates confinement in cellulose acetate butyrate films at thicknesses below 45 to 70 nanometers. Plasticization is demonstrated in cellulose acetate butyrate film with an increase in swelling activity, but a decrease at low plasticizer concentration, indicating antiplasticization. There is a discussion on how these observations indicate changes in fundamental structural properties and can be used to predict transport properties.
Recommended Citation
Parkhurst, Keegan Reece, "Tuning the Structural Properties of Cellulose Acetate Thin Films: A Demonstration of Confinement and Antiplasticization in Cellulose Acetate Butyrate" (2022). Graduate Theses - Chemical Engineering. 15.
https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/chemical_engineering_grad_theses/15