Permeation of oxygen dissolved in water through substituted polyacetylene membranes

Abstract The permeation of oxygen dissolved in water through substituted polyacetylene membranes was studied by using an oxygen electrode at 25°C. Many of the membranes (thickness about 200 μm) showed high apparent permeability coefficients P in the range 10 −9 −10 −8 cm 3 (STP) cm cm −2 s −1 cmHg −1 . The resistance r of the boundary layer and the permeability P ∞ , at infinite membrane thickness were determined from the dependence of P on membrane thickness. The r values of Si‐containing and aliphatic polyacetylenes were usually larger than those of aromatic polyacetylenes. The P ∞ , values of Si‐containing and aliphatic polyacetylenes agreed closely with the permeability coefficients P g for gaseous oxygen. In contrast, P ∞ values for aromatic polyacetylenes were larger than P g values.