Water, either in its liquid or vapor form, causes polymers and composites to fail, affecting their working lifetimes. Conventional water permeation measurements and diffusion calculations for polymers are based on correlations with variations in their bulk physical or chemical properties. These methods do not provide any understanding of the localized effects of water, specifically in polymer composites. Such localized experiments as have been performed previously, are limited to the use of system intrusive methods. Therefore, the use of a fluorogenic probe that activates with water and UV irradiation will be described. Simultaneously, the necessities and limitations pertaining to the study of localized effects of water in polymer composites will be discussed.

Experimental caveats in determining local water diffusion coefficients in polymer composites: Use of an intrinsic fluorogenic probe

254th National Meeting (2017)

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