Two-Dimensional Nanoporous Cross-linked Polymer Networks as Emerging Candidates for Gas Adsorption

This paper illustrates the gas adsorption properties of newly synthesized nanoporous cross-linked polymer networks (CPNs). All synthesized CPNs possess N-rich functional groups and are used for the utilization of carbon dioxide and methane. Good gas adsorption and selectivities are obtained for all of the samples. Among the materials, HEREON2 outperforms better selectivity for methane separation from nitrogen rather than zeolites, activated carbons, molecular sieves, covalent organic frameworks, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The accessibility of the N-rich functionalities makes these materials potential candidates for the separation of hydrocarbons via increased polarizabilities. High-pressure adsorption experiments showed that the synthesized two-dimensional nanoporous materials also have a high affinity toward carbon dioxide. HEREON2 powders showed an increased experimental CO2/N2 selectivity of ∼25,000 at 50 bar due to the presence of nitrogen groups in the structure. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied for the characterization of the synthesized nanoporous CPNs. The results show a potential new pathway for future CPN membrane development.

Pioneering the preparation of porous PIM-1 membranes for enhanced water vapor flow

In this study, porous polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) membranes were prepared by non-solvent induced phase inversion (NIPS) and investigated for water vapor transport in view of their application in membrane distillation (MD). Due to the lack of high boiling point solvents for PIM-1 that are also water miscible, the mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was found to be optimal for the formation of a membrane with a developed porous system both on the membrane surface and in the bulk. PIM-1 was synthesized by using low and high temperature methods to observe how molecular weight effects the membrane structure. Low molecular weight PIM-1 was produced at low temperatures, while high molecular weight PIM-1 was obtained at high temperatures. Several membranes were prepared, including PM-6, PM-9, and PM-11 from low molecular weight PIM-1, and PM-13 from high molecular weight PIM-1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to image the surface and cross-section of different porous PIM-1 membranes. Among all the PIM-1 membranes (PM) obtained, PM-6, PM-9, PM-11 and PM-13 showed the most developed porous structure, while PM-13 showed large voids in the bulk of the membrane. Contact angle measurements showed that all PIM-1 porous membranes are highly hydrophobic. Liquid water flux measurements showed that PM-6, PM-9 and PM-11 showed minimal water fluxes due to small surface pore size, while PM-13 showed a high water flux due to a large surface pore size. Water vapor transport measurements showed high permeance values for all membranes, demonstrating the applicability of the developed membranes for MD. In addition, a thin film composite (TFC) membrane with PIM-1 selective layer was prepared and investigated for water vapor transport to compare with porous PIM-1 membranes. The TFC membrane showed an approximately 4-fold lower vapor permeance than porous membranes. Based on these results, we postulated that the use of porous PIM-1 membranes could be promising for MD due to their hydrophobic nature and the fact that the porous membranes allow vapor permeability through the membrane but not liquid water. The TFC membrane can be used in cases where the transfer of water-soluble contaminants must be absolutely avoided.

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.

Investigation of the Side Chain Effect on Gas and Water Vapor Transport Properties of Anthracene-Maleimide Based Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity

In the present work, a set of anthracene maleimide monomers with different aliphatic side groups obtained by Diels Alder reactions were used as precursors for a series of polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) based homo- and copolymers that were successfully synthesized and characterized. Polymers with different sizes and shapes of aliphatic side groups were characterized by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), (nuclear magnetic resonance) 1H-NMR, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis coupled with Fourier-Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and density measurements. The TG-FTIR measurement of the monomer-containing methyl side group revealed that the maleimide group decomposes prior to the anthracene backbone. Thermal treatment of homopolymer methyl-100 thick film was conducted to establish retro-Diels Alder rearrangement of the homopolymer. Gas and water vapor transport properties of homopolymers and copolymers were investigated by time-lag measurements. Homopolymers with bulky side groups (i-propyl-100 and t-butyl-100) experienced a strong impact of these side groups in fractional free volume (FFV) and penetrant permeability, compared to the homopolymers with linear alkyl side chains. The effect of anthracene maleimide derivatives with a variety of aliphatic side groups on water vapor transport is discussed. The maleimide moiety increased the water affinity of the homopolymers. Phenyl-100 exhibited a high water solubility, which is related to a higher amount of aromatic rings in the polymer. Copolymers (methyl-50 and t-butyl-50) showed higher CO2 and CH4 permeability compared to PIM-1. In summary, the introduction of bulky substituents increased free volume and permeability whilst the maleimide moiety enhanced the water vapor affinity of the polymers.

Chemical Modification of Poly(1-Trimethylsylil-1-Propyne) for the Creation of Highly Efficient CO2-Selective Membrane Materials

The work is devoted to the chemical modification of a polymer that is promising for the creation of gas separation membranes, aimed at increasing the selectivity with respect to CO₂. The introduction of ionic liquids into the structure of poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) is realized by a two-step process: bromination of the initial polymer with N-bromosuccinimide and subsequent addition of tertiary amine (N-butylimidazole) to it. Depending on the process conditions, the method allows polymers with different contents of the ionic liquid to be obtained. The obtained polymers show good film-forming properties and thermal stability. Depending on the content of the ionic liquid in the polymer matrix, the resistance to aliphatic alicyclic to the majority of halogenated, as well as aromatic hydrocarbons, increases. With an increase of the ionic liquid content in the polymer, the ideal selectivities of CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ gas pairs increases while maintaining a high level of permeability.

Novel Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Membranes for High-Temperature Gas Separations

Novel selective polymeric thin-film composite membranes (TFCMs) for applications at elevated temperatures were developed. Thin selective layers of the polyimides Matrimid 5218^® and 6FDA-6FpDA were cast on a developed polybenzimidazole (PBI) porous support prepared by a phase inversion process. The TFCM properties were investigated with different gases in a wide temperature range, including temperatures up to 270 °C. The membranes showed very high thermal stability and performed well at the elevated temperatures. The development of highly thermally resistant polymeric membranes such as these TFCMs opens opportunities for application in high-temperature integrated processes, such as catalytic membrane reactors for the water-gas shift reaction in order to maximize H₂ yield.

Study of the Effect of Inorganic Particles on the Gas Transport Properties of Glassy Polyimides for Selective CO₂ and H₂O Separation

Three polyimides and six inorganic fillers in a form of nanometer-sized particles were studied as thick film solution cast mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for the transport of CO₂, CH₄, and H₂O. Gas transport properties and electron microscopy images indicate good polymer-filler compatibility for all membranes. The only filler type thatdemonstrated good distribution throughout the membrane thickness at 10 wt.% loading was BaCe_0.2Zr_0.7Y_0.1O₃ (BCZY). The influence of this filler on MMM gas transport properties was studied in detail for 6FDA-6FpDA in a filler content range from one to 20 wt.% and for Matrimid^® and P84^® at 10 wt.% loading. The most promising result was obtained for Matrimid^®—10 wt.% BCZY MMM, which showed improvement in CO₂ and H₂O permeabilities accompanied by increased CO₂/CH₄ selectivity and high water selective membrane at elevated temperatures without H₂O/permanent gas selectivity loss.

Covalently Modified Graphene Oxide and Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) in Mixed Matrix Thin-Film Composite Membranes

In this study, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) incorporated in a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) serving as a polymer matrix have been fabricated by dip-coating method, and their single gas transport properties were investigated. Successfully surface-modified GOs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of FGO loading on MMM morphology and performance was investigated by varying the FGO content in polymer matrix from 9 to 84 wt.%. Use of high FGO content in the polymer matrix helped to reveal difference in interaction of functionalized fillers with PIM-1 and even to discuss the change of FGO stiffness and filler alignment to the membrane surface depending on functional group nature.

CO2 Selective PolyActive Membrane: Thermal Transitions and Gas Permeance as a Function of Thickness

It is generally accepted that the melting point of a semicrystalline polymer is associated with the thickness of the crystalline lamellae (Gibbs-Thomson equation). In this study, a commercially available multiblock copolymer PolyActive composed of 77 wt % of poly(ethylene glycol terephthalate) and 23 wt % of poly(butylene terephthalate) was dip-coated on top of a multilayer microporous support. The thickness was changed between 0.2 and 8 μm using coating solutions containing 0.75-7.5 wt % PolyActive. The surface temperature of the membrane during dip-coating was monitored using an infrared camera. Single gas permeances of N₂, H₂, CH₄, and CO₂ were measured between 20 and 80 °C at temperature steps of 2 °C. Spherulitic superstructures composed of radially directed lamellae were observed in the polarized light microscope in the prepared membranes. Atomic force microscopy studies showed that the thickness of the crystalline lamellae was in the order of 10 nm or 0.01 μm at the surface of the membrane. Therefore, according to the Gibbs-Thomson equation, the melting point should not change in the thickness range 0.2-8 μm. However, the gas permeance data showed that the melting point of the polyether domains of the 0.2 μm PolyActive layer was 10 °C lower compared to that of the 8 μm layer. The results can be explained by considering that the width of many crystalline lamellae significantly reduces as a function of film thickness, thereby reducing the average fold surface free energy/lateral surface free energy ratio.

Gas Separation Properties of Polyimide Thin Films on Ceramic Supports for High Temperature Applications

Novel selective ceramic-supported thin polyimide films produced in a single dip coating step are proposed for membrane applications at elevated temperatures. Layers of the polyimides P84^®, Matrimid 5218^®, and 6FDA-6FpDA were successfully deposited onto porous alumina supports. In order to tackle the poor compatibility between ceramic support and polymer, and to get defect-free thin films, the effect of the viscosity of the polymer solution was studied, giving the entanglement concentration (C*) for each polymer. The C* values were 3.09 wt. % for the 6FDA-6FpDA, 3.52 wt. % for Matrimid^®, and 4.30 wt. % for P84^®. A minimum polymer solution concentration necessary for defect-free film formation was found for each polymer, with the inverse order to the intrinsic viscosities (P84^® ≥ Matrimid^® >> 6FDA-6FpDA). The effect of the temperature on the permeance of prepared membranes was studied for H₂, CH₄, N₂, O₂, and CO₂. As expected, activation energy of permeance for hydrogen was higher than for CO₂, resulting in H₂/CO₂ selectivity increase with temperature. More densely packed polymers lead to materials that are more selective at elevated temperatures.

Development and Characterization of Defect-Free Matrimid® Mixed-Matrix Membranes Containing Activated Carbon Particles for Gas Separation

In this work, mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) for gas separation in the form of thick films were prepared via the combination of the polymer Matrimid® 5218 and activated carbons (AC). The AC particles had a mean particle size of 1.5 μm and a mean pore diameter of 1.9 nm. The films were prepared by slow solvent evaporation from casting solutions in chloroform, which had a varying polymer⁻AC ratio. It was possible to produce stable films with up to a content of 50 vol % of AC. Thorough characterization experiments were accomplished via differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, while the morphology of the MMMs was also investigated via scanning electron microscopy. The gas transport properties were revealed by employing time-lag measurements for different pure gases as well as sorption balance experiments for the filler particles. It was found that defect free Matrimid® MMMs with AC were prepared and the increase of the filler content led to a higher effective permeability for different gases. The single gas selectivity αij of different gas pairs maintained stable values with the increase of AC content, regardless of the steep increase in the effective permeability of the pure gases. Estimation of the solubilities and the diffusivities of the Matrimid®, AC, and MMMs allowed for the explanation of the increasing permeabilities of the MMMs, with the increase of AC content by modelling.

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.

Effect of the reactive amino and glycidyl ether terminated polyethylene oxide additives on the gas transport properties of Pebax® bulk and thin film composite membranes

New CO₂ selective blend materials were tested for gas transport properties as thick film and thin film composite membrane.

Influence of Poly(ethylene glycol) Segment Length on CO2 Permeation and Stability of PolyActive Membranes and Their Nanocomposites with PEG POSS

Three grades of PolyActive block copolymers are investigated for CO2 separation from light gases. The polymers are composed of 23 wt % poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and 77 wt % poly(ethylene glycol terephthalate) (PEGT) having the poly(ethylene glycol) segments of 1500, 3000, and 4000 g/mol, respectively. A commercial PEG POSS (poly(ethylene glycol) functionalized polyoctahedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes) is used as a nanofiller for these polymers to prepare nanocomposites via a solvent casting method. Single gas permeabilities of N2, H2, CH4, and CO2 are measured via the time-lag method in the temperature range from 30 to 70 °C. The thermal transitions of the prepared membranes are studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It is found that the length of PEG segment has a pronounced influence on the thermal transition of the polymers that regulates the gas separation performance of the membranes. The stability of the nanocomposites is also correlated with the thermal transition of the polyether blocks of the polymer matrices.

Poly(ether–amide) vs. poly(ether–imide) copolymers for post-combustion membrane separation processes

This work is focused on the comparison between the commercial polyamide PEBAX® MH 1657 and a new set of synthesized polyimides with different polyethylene glycol lengths.

Carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) supported by polymer: mechanics and gas permeation

Gas permeation characteristics of carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) from self-assembled monolayers are reported for the first time. The assembly of CNMs onto polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) support membranes allows mechanical measurements under compression as well as determination of gas permeation characteristics. The results suggest that molecular-sized channels in CNMs dominate the permeation properties of the 1 nm thin CNMs.

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.

Pyrene-POSS nanohybrid as a dispersant for carbon nanotubes in solvents of various polarities: its synthesis and application in the preparation of a composite membrane

In this study we report the preparation of nanohybrid dispersant molecules based on pyrene and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes for non-covalent functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The prepared dispersant improves the dispersion of MWCNTs in organic solvents with very different polarities such as tetrahydrofuran, toluene, and n-hexane. The functionalized MWCNTs were used to introduce conductivity into polydimethylsiloxane membranes which can be used for electrostatic discharge applications.