Vapor phase infiltration (VPI) enables the fabrication of novel organic–inorganic hybrid materials with distinctive properties by infiltrating polymers with inorganic species through a top-down approach. However, understanding the process kinetics is challenging due to the complex interplay of sorption, diffusion and reaction processes. This study examines how polymer network flexibility affects the kinetics of diethylzinc (DEZ) infiltration into a highly crosslinked polyacrylate copolymer system composed of two monomers: trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA). The findings show that increasing the ratio of ETPTA, which enhances network flexibility, facilitates precursor diffusion, resulting in deeper infiltration and faster saturation. A reaction–diffusion transport model is employed to qualitatively interpret the experimental results and gain insights into the underlying process mechanisms, thus contributing to a better understanding of VPI kinetics.

中文翻译：

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聚合物网络柔韧性对 DEZ 气相渗透到光聚合聚丙烯酸酯中动力学的影响


气相渗透 （VPI） 通过自上而下的方法将无机物质浸润到聚合物中，从而能够制造出具有独特性能的新型有机-无机杂化材料。然而，由于吸附、扩散和反应过程的复杂相互作用，了解过程动力学具有挑战性。本研究研究了聚合物网络柔韧性如何影响二乙基锌 （DEZ） 浸润到由两种单体组成的高度交联聚丙烯酸酯共聚物系统中的动力学：三羟甲基丙烷三丙烯酸酯 （TMPTA） 和乙氧基化三羟甲基丙烷三丙烯酸酯 （ETPTA）。研究结果表明，增加 ETPTA 的比率可增强网络灵活性，促进前体扩散，从而导致更深的浸润和更快的饱和。采用反应-扩散传输模型定性解释实验结果并深入了解潜在的过程机制，从而有助于更好地理解 VPI 动力学。