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Kanrakot (Nan) Thamanavat Georgia
Institute of Technology School of Chemical Engineering E-mail: nthamanavat@chbe.gatech.edu |
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B.Eng. Chemical Engineering,
King Mongkut’s Institute of
Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok Thailand.
Research
Project
High Pressure Phase
Equilibrium in the Carbon Dioxide – Pyrrole System
The use of carbon dioxide as a “green” solvent is
being considered in the synthesis of a range of materials. One example is the
preparation of conducting composites of polypyrrole and a host polymer using
supercritical CO2 as a solvent and also as an impregnating agent for
the monomer. This in-situ polymerization process offers an attractive
alternative to conventional processing of composites with organic solvents. In
our research group, Abbett (2002) and Kurosawa (2004) have shown that the use
of supercritical carbon dioxide in the in
situ polymerization of pyrrole in a host polymer can lead to composites
with a high electrical conductivity. The solubility of pyrrole in supercritical
carbon dioxide at the operating conditions of this polymerization process must
be known in order to optimize the conductivity. This project therefore involves
the measurement of high pressure phase behavior of CO2 – pyrrole in
order to optimize the formulation of the conducting composite and hence its
electrical conductivity.