Effect of polymer coatings from CO2 on water-vapor transport in porous media

A variety of perfluorinated polyethers were coated onto surfaces of marble, sandstone and limestone samples from solutions in supercritical carbon dioxide. These polymers make ideal protectants for civil infrastructure by making stone surfaces hydrophobic and preventing penetration and deterioration of the stone by acid rain. The effective diffusivities of water vapor through coated and uncoated stones were measured as a function of polymer applied per unit area of sample. An analysis of the diffusive transport of water through the stones led to estimates of the penetration depths of the polymers and the percentages of blockage of the pores in the coated layers as a function of polymer surface coverage. Penetration depths were seen to strongly depend on the mean size and porosity of the stones. It is important for water-vapor diffusion to occur through the samples to prevent water condensation inside polymer-coated structural materials.