Full Characterization of Water Transport Properties in Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK)
Abstract
Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) is of increasing interest for the manufacture of composites in the aeronautical field. It is essential to evaluate the PEKK absorption of fluids, especially water, with which it may come into contact during its processing and use. In this work, we provide for the first time water transport parameters such as water diffusivity and solubility for PEKK in amorphous and semicrystalline states using water immersion as well as dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) experiments. Water diffusion is modeled using Fick’s second law with variable boundary conditions, taking into account possible relative humidity variation during the DVS experiments. Based on similar characterizations of PEEK, we discuss the fact that PEKK absorbs more water than PEEK in terms of polarity.