Mitigation of physical aging with mixed matrix membranes based on crosslinked PIM-1 fillers and PIM-1

Marzieh Tamaddondar, Andrew Bryan Foster, Mariolino Carta, Patricia Gorgojo, Neil B. Mckeown, Peter Martin Budd

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A low cross-link density (LCD) network-PIM-1, which offers high compatibility with the polymer of intrinsic microporosity PIM-1, is synthesized by a modified PIM-1 polycondensation that combines both a tetrafluoro- and an octafluoro-monomer. To maximize the advantages of utilizing such cross-linked PIM-1 fillers in PIM-1-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), a grafting route is used to decorate the LCD-network-PIM-1 (dispersed phase) with PIM-1 chains, to further enhance compatibility with the PIM-1 matrix. Mixed-gas CO2/CH4 (1:1, v/v) separation results over 160 days of membrane aging confirm the success of a relatively short (24 h) grafting reaction in improving the initial CO2 separation performance, as well as hindering the aging of PIM-1/grafted-LCD-network-PIM-1 MMMs. For MMMs based on a 24 h grafting route, all the gas separation data surpass the 2008 Robeson upper bound by a significant margin, and the 160-day aged membranes show only 29% reduction from the initial CO2 permeability, which is substantially less than the equivalent losses of nearly 70% and 48% for PIM-1 and traditionally fabricated MMMs counterparts, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of network-PIM components for obtaining much more stable gas separation performance over extended periods of time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)46756-46766
Number of pages11
JournalACS applied materials & interfaces
Volume12
Issue number41
Early online date9 Sept 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Oct 2020

Keywords

  • CO2 separation
  • cross-linking
  • grafting
  • membrane aging
  • mixed matrix membrane
  • polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM)

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