Fabrication of Thin Films by Drying Aqueous Polymer Solutions

We developed a lab-scale setup for fabrication of thin films (~0.1mm) by drying multicomponent polymer solutions over a wide range of drying regimes. The drying chamber is equipped with a heater, an air blower with adjustable flow rate and temperature, a humidifier to vary the partial pressures of water and organic solvent, a balance to automatically monitor the sample weight, and sensors to control the temperature, airflow, and the atmosphere composition in the process of drying. We will report on the drying kinetics and mechanical properties of films prepared by drying aqueous HPMC solutions without and with additions of sodium dodecyl sulfate and polyethylene glycol over a broad range of operating regime.

The work was supported by NSF Engineering Research Center on Structured Organic Particulate Systems.