Influence of polyimide precursor synthesis route and ortho-position functional group on thermally rearranged (TR) polymer properties: Pure gas permeability and selectivity

Thermally stimulated cascade reaction polymer membranes: a promising strategy for an increased hydrogen and propylene purification performance

A thermally stimulated cascade of reactions in solid-state of tailored polyimides was developed with the aim of lowering the target temperature for the final reaction step towards a polybenzoxazole and improvement of the gas separation performance.

Synthesis and gas permeation properties of thermally rearranged poly(ether-benzoxazole)s with low rearrangement temperatures

The diamine monomer, 9,9-bis[4-(4-amino-3-hydroxylphenoxy)phenyl] fluorene (bis-AHPPF) was successfully synthesized according to our modified method. A series of hydroxyl-containing poly(ether-imide)s (HPEIs) were prepared by polycondensation of the bis-AHPPF diamine with six kinds of dianhydrides, including 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (CBDA), pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3,3',4,4'-biphenyl tetracarboxylic diandhydride (BPDA), 3,3',4,4'-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidine)diphtalic anhydride (6FDA) followed by thermal imidization. The corresponding thermally rearranged (TR) membranes were obtained by solid state thermal treatment at high temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere. The chemical structure, and physical, thermal and mechanical properties of the HPEI precursors were characterized. The effects of heat treatment temperature and dianhydrides on the gas transport properties of the poly(ether-benzoxazole) (PEBO) membranes were also investigated. It was found that these HPEIs showed excellent thermal and mechanical properties. All the HPEI precursors underwent thermal conversion in a N2 atmosphere with low rearrangement temperatures. The gas permeabilities of the PEBO membranes increased with the increase of thermal treatment temperature. When HPEI-6FDA was treated at 450 °C for 1 h, the H2, CO2, O2 and N2 permeabilities of the membrane reached 239.6, 196.04, 46.41 and 9.25 Barrers coupled with a O2/N2 selectivity of 5.02 and a CO2/N2 selectivity of 21.19. In six TR-PEBOs, PEBO-6FDA exhibited the lowest rearrangement temperature and largest gas permeabilities. Therefore, thermally rearranged membranes from bis-AHPPF-based HPEIs are expected to be promising materials for gas separation.

Designing exceptional gas-separation polymer membranes using machine learning

The field of polymer membrane design is primarily based on empirical observation, which limits discovery of new materials optimized for separating a given gas pair. Instead of relying on exhaustive experimental investigations, we trained a machine learning (ML) algorithm, using a topological, path-based hash of the polymer repeating unit. We used a limited set of experimental gas permeability data for six different gases in ~700 polymeric constructs that have been measured to date to predict the gas-separation behavior of over 11,000 homopolymers not previously tested for these properties. To test the algorithm's accuracy, we synthesized two of the most promising polymer membranes predicted by this approach and found that they exceeded the upper bound for CO₂/CH₄ separation performance. This ML technique, which is trained using a relatively small body of experimental data (and no simulation data), evidently represents an innovative means of exploring the vast phase space available for polymer membrane design.

Engineered Transport in Microporous Materials and Membranes for Clean Energy Technologies

Many forward-looking clean-energy technologies hinge on the development of scalable and efficient membrane-based separations. Ongoing investment in the basic research of microporous materials is beginning to pay dividends in membrane technology maturation. Specifically, improvements in membrane selectivity, permeability, and durability are being leveraged for more efficient carbon capture, desalination, and energy storage, and the market adoption of membranes in those areas appears to be on the horizon. Herein, an overview of the microporous materials chemistry driving advanced membrane development, the clean-energy separations employing them, and the theoretical underpinnings tying membrane performance to membrane structure across multiple length scales is provided. The interplay of pore architecture and chemistry for a given set of analytes emerges as a critical design consideration dictating mass transport outcomes. Opportunities and outstanding challenges in the field are also discussed, including high-flux 2D molecular-sieving membranes, phase-change adsorbents as performance-enhancing components in composite membranes, and the need for quantitative metrologies for understanding mass transport in heterophasic materials and in micropores with unusual chemical interactions with analytes of interest.

Thermal rearrangement of ortho-allyloxypolyimide membranes and the effect of the degree of functionalization

Aromatic polyimides containing different ratios of ortho-hydroxy to ortho-allyloxy units were prepared and thermally rearranged.

Claisen thermally rearranged (CTR) polymers

Thermally rearranged (TR) polymers, which are considered the next-generation of membrane materials because of their excellent transport properties and high thermal and chemical stability, are proven to have significant drawbacks because of the high temperature required for the rearrangement and low degree of conversion during this process. We demonstrate that using a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, the temperature required for the rearrangement of a solid glassy polymer was reduced by 200°C. Conversions of functionalized polyimide to polybenzoxazole of more than 97% were achieved. These highly mechanically stable polymers were almost five times more permeable and had more than two times higher degrees of conversion than the reference polymer treated under the same conditions. Properties of these second-generation TR polymers provide the possibility of preparing efficient polymer membranes in a form of, for example, thin-film composite membranes for various gas and liquid membrane separation applications.

Enhanced Performance of Polyurethane Hybrid Membranes for CO2 Separation by Incorporating Graphene Oxide: The Relationship between Membrane Performance and Morphology of Graphene Oxide

Polyurethane hybrid membranes containing graphene oxide (GO) with different morphologies were prepared by in situ polymerization. The separation of CO2/N2 gas mixtures was studied using these novel membranes. The results from the morphology characterization of GO samples indicated that the oxidation process in the improved Hummers method introduced oxygenated functional groups into graphite, making graphite powder exfoliate into GO nanosheets. The surface defects on the GO sheets increased when oxidation increased due to the introduction of more oxygenated functional groups. Both the increase in oxygenated functional groups on the GO surface and the decrease in the number of GO layers leads to a better distribution of GO in the polymer matrix, increasing thermal stability and gas separation performance of membranes. The addition of excess oxidant destroyed the structure of GO sheets and forms structural defects, which depressed the separation performance of membranes. The hybrid membranes containing well-distributed GO showed higher permeability and permeability selectivity for the CO2. The formation of GO aggregates in the hybrid membranes depressed the membrane performance at a high content of GO.

Novel hybrid membranes by incorporating SiO2 nanoparticles using in situ microemulsion polymerization: preparation, characterization and enhancement in the performance for CO2/N2

SiO₂/PMMA membranes by in situ microemulsion polymerization showed high separation performance, due to the good distribution of small SiO₂ in the polymer.