Thermal Cross Linking of Novel Azide Modified Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity-Effect of Distribution and the Gas Separation Performance.

The synthesis of polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) modified with azide groups, the cross linkage by nitrene reaction and their performance as gas separation membranes are reported. The azide modification of the spirobisindane units in the polymer backbone was done by post functionalization of methylated spirobisindane containing polymers. These polymers differ in distribution and concentration of the azide group containing spirobisindane units by applying perfectly alternating and randomly distributed copolymers along the polymer chains. To investigate the influence of concentration of the azide groups, additionally the homopolymer of methylated spirobisindane was synthesized and subjected to identical treatments and characterizations as both copolymers. Cross linkage by nitrene reaction was examined by different temperature treatments at 150, 200, 250 and 300 °C. Characterization of the new polymers was performed by NMR, SEC and FT-IR. Furthermore, the crosslinking process was investigated by means of solid state NMR, TGA-FTIR, DSC and isoconversional kinetic analysis performed with TGA. Gas permeability of CO2, N2, CH4, H2 and O2 was determined by time lag experiments and ideal selectivities for several gas pairs were calculated. The two azide groups per repeating unit degrade during thermal treatments by release of nitrogen and form mechanically stable PIM networks, leading to an increase in gas permeability while selectivity remained nearly constant. Measured diffusivity and solubility coefficients revealed differences in the formation of free volume elements depending on distribution and concentration of the azide groups. Aging studies over about five months were performed and physical aging rates (ßP) were evaluated with regard to the concentration and distribution of curable azide functionalities. Subsequently, the enhanced sieving effect during aging resulted in membrane materials that surpassed the Robeson upper bound in selected gas pairs.

Membranes of Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) Modified by Poly(ethylene glycol).

Until now, the leading polymer of intrinsic microporosity PIM-1 has become quite famous for its high membrane permeability for many gases in gas separation, linked, however, to a rather moderate selectivity. The combination with the hydrophilic and low permeable poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(ethylene oxides) (PEO) should on the one hand reduce permeability, while on the other hand enhance selectivity, especially for the polar gas CO2 by improving the hydrophilicity of the membranes. Four different paths to combine PIM-1 with PEG or poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) were studied: physically blending, quenching of polycondensation, synthesis of multiblock copolymers and synthesis of copolymers with PEO/PPO side chain. Blends and new, chemically linked polymers were successfully formed into free standing dense membranes and measured in single gas permeation of N2, O2, CO2 and CH4 by time lag method. As expected, permeability was lowered by any substantial addition of PEG/PEO/PPO regardless the manufacturing process and proportionally to the added amount. About 6 to 7 wt % of PEG/PEO/PPO added to PIM-1 halved permeability compared to PIM-1 membrane prepared under similar conditions. Consequently, selectivity from single gas measurements increased up to values of about 30 for CO2/N2 gas pair, a maximum of 18 for CO2/CH4 and 3.5 for O2/N2.

Effect of the porosity of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) on its intrinsic fluorescence.

The photophysical properties of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity, namely, PIM-1, were characterized by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence for solutions of PIM-1 in dichloromethane (DCM) or for a membrane made of PIM-1 immersed in hexane to which a quencher was added. Quenching of PIM-1 by the proton-donor trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), electron-rich tributylamine (TBA), and electron-poor nitromethane (CH3NO2) was investigated and compared to those of the structural unit of PIM-1, the model compound M-1. Only TBA and TFA appeared to quench PIM-1 effectively. The sensitivity of monomer M-1 to the nature of the solvent led us to investigate how addition of a quencher would affect the fluorescence of the polymer PIM-1. Solvent effects were observed for TFA only and were carefully characterized. In particular, it was determined that these solvent effects could be neglected for TFA concentrations smaller than 1.4 mM. Quenching of PIM-1 by TBA was diffusional in nature and occurred in a similar manner for M-1 and PIM-1 in DCM, suggesting that M-1 is locally excited in PIM-1. All M-1 units were accessible and quenched effectively by TBA for PIM-1 in DCM and the PIM-1 membrane in hexane. Quenching of PIM-1 in DCM and in the membrane was more complex, showing a combination of static, diffusive, and protective quenching. The fraction of accessible M-1 units to TFA (f(a)) was determined to be equal to 0.5 for PIM-1 in DCM or in the membrane. The TBA and TFA quenching experiments led to the conclusion that the same accessibility was obtained for the fluorescent constituting units of PIM-1 dissolved in DCM or in a membrane immersed in hexane, in agreement with the known high microporosity of this polymer.

Functionalized carbon nanotubes mixed matrix membranes of polymers of intrinsic microporosity for gas separation.

The present work reports on the gas transport behavior of mixed matrix membranes (MMM) which were prepared from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and dispersed within polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) matrix. The MWCNTs were chemically functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) for a better dispersion in the polymer matrix. MMM-incorporating functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs) were fabricated by dip-coating method using microporous polyacrylonitrile membrane as a support and were characterized for gas separation performance. Gas permeation measurements show that MMM incorporated with pristine or functionalized MWCNTs exhibited improved gas separation performance compared to pure PIM-1. The f-MWCNTs MMM show better performance in terms of permeance and selectivity in comparison to pristine MWCNTs. The gas permeances of the derived MMM are increased to approximately 50% without sacrificing the selectivity at 2 wt.% of f-MWCNTs' loading. The PEG groups on the MWCNTs have strong interaction with CO2 which increases the solubility of polar gas and limit the solubility of nonpolar gas, which is advantageous for CO2/N2 selectivity. The addition of f-MWCNTs inside the polymer matrix also improved the long-term gas transport stability of MMM in comparison with PIM-1. The high permeance, selectivity, and long term stability of the fabricated MMM suggest that the reported approach can be utilized in practical gas separation technology.