Surface modified polymer thin films with enhanced sensitivity to a naphthenic acid model compound: A quartz crystal microbalance study

• Author / Creator

  Xi,Huang

• A polymer coating that adsorbs napththenic acid (a hydrocarbon contaminant found in oil sands process affected water) was developed to enable the sensing of this chemical using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). To detect a naphthenic acid model compound (4-methyl-cyclohexane acetic acid, MCAA), a polybutadiene thin film surface was modified with amine functional groups through a facile two steps process, which involved generating hydroxides on the surface of the polymer and subsequently reacting this surface with silanes. QCM measurements revealed that polybutadiene thin films modified with amino groups exhibited much higher sensitivity to MCAA than unmodified films. The sensitivity of the system was tested in various buffer solutions and the application of amine functional groups to other polymers was also examined. Both the modification with the amino group and properties of the hydrophobic polymer itself were found to impact the device performance.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Model naphthenic acids
  • QCM technique
  • Polymer modification

• Graduation date

  Fall 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3B56DC96

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.