Analysing the properties of a thermoformed polyimide film for a gas chromatography valve

这项提案寻求NSERC的资金来解决APN-AFP公司目前的问题，在魁北克，即开发高质量的色谱阀。近年来，不连续地观察到异常高的废品率，并且聚酰亚胺微加工的阀门隔膜被确定为导致如此高废品率的元件，在一年中的某些时期可以达到50%。在高生产率的背景下，由于高需求，这可能会损害公司的效率，并产生工作附加费。这种隔膜的制造包括一系列多步热压工艺，需要控制诸如温度、压缩负荷等参数。APN-AFP Inc.的团队在过去的几个月里，我们优化了这一过程，但没有取得重大成果。该项目背后的假设是，温度、空气湿度、工艺负载和隔膜储存等参数敏感地影响聚酰亚胺隔膜的内在微观结构。通过一种迄今为止尚未探索的创新方法，我们计划在6个月内进行一项参数研究，结合机械加工，先进的光谱学，机械测试，差示扫描显微镜和先进的表面分析，以评估哪些元素是导致影响隔膜性能的重要变化的原因。这有望提高APN-AFP公司的竞争力，并延伸到加拿大所有高附加值超精密产品的制造业。我们建议主要研究通过先进的化学和机械技术对聚酰亚胺原材料生产隔膜所需的所有步骤进行系统表征的途径。这不是一项常规工作，主要是因为文献不清楚温度、湿度和制造工艺对聚酰亚胺结构的确切影响。APN-AFP Inc.从它的角度来看，需要推动材料在最高性能极限下工作。通过这项工作，本质上，我们正在推动聚酰亚胺结构/性能关系的知识超过已知的前沿。

This proposal seeks NSERC funds to address a current problem of APN-AFP inc., in Québec, namely developing high quality valves for chromatography. In the recent years, an unusual high rejection rate was observed not continuously, and the diaphragm of the valves, microfabricated in polyimide was identified as the element causing a so high rejection rate, that can reach 50% in some periods of the year. In a context of high productivity, due to the high demand, this can compromise the efficiency of the company, and create a work surcharge. The fabrication of such diaphragm includes a series of multi-step hot embossing processes demanding control of parameters such temperature, compression charges, and others. The team of APN-AFP inc. optimised the process over the last months, but without reaching significant results. The hypotheses behind this project is that the parameters of temperature, air humidity, process loads, and storing the diaphragm sensitively affect the intrinsically microstructure of the polyimide diaphragm. By an innovative approach unexplored up to now, in 6 months, we plan to carry out a parametric study combining mechanical processing, advanced spectroscopy, mechanical testing, differential scanning microscopy, and advanced surface analyses to assess which are the element responsible to induce changes so important to compromise the performances of the diaphragm. This is expected to improve the competitiveness of APN-AFP inc., and by extension all the Canadian manufacturing industry of high-added value ultra-precise products. We propose to mainly investigate a route towards systematic characterization through advanced chemical and mechanical technique of all the steps required to produce the diaphragm from polyimide raw material. This is not a routine work, mainly because the literature is unclear of the precise role that temperature, humidity and fabrication processes can affect polyimide structure. APN-AFP inc. from its side, needs to push the materials to work at the highest performance limits. By this work, intrinsically, we are pushing the knowledge of the polyimide structure/property relationships over the frontier of the known.