CO₂ and water vapor permeability in polymer nanocomposites and foams

Permeation properties are important for the design and implementation of polymer nanocomposites and polymer nanocomposite foam products. The literature is quite limited regarding permeation studies on these materials. In this paper, we focus on permeation properties of polystyrene nanocomposites (two types of nanoclay and carbon nanofiber) and their respective foams. Commercial instruments (PERMATRAN-C Model 4/41 and PERMATRAN-W Model 3/33 from Mocon) were used to measure steady state permeability coefficients of CO₂ and water vapor at three temperatures: 10°C, 25°C, and 40°C From these data permeation rates and permeation activation energy are compared based on nanocomposite morphology.