1. Brominated Poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) and Its Silica Nanocomposite Membranes for Gas Separation
- Author
-
Youqing Shen, Maciej Radosz, Hailin Cong, and Xudong Hu
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,Materials science ,Nanocomposite ,General Chemical Engineering ,Oxide ,General Chemistry ,Polymer ,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Membrane ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Permeability (electromagnetism) ,Phenylene ,Organic chemistry ,Gas separation ,Selectivity - Abstract
Brominated poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPOdp) is synthesized as a new membrane material for gas separation. BPPOdp forms flexible membranes with higher CO2 permeability (PCO2 = 78 Barrer) and selectivity (αCO2/N2 = 30) than poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPOdm) membranes. BPPOdp also forms nanocomposite membranes with silica nanoparticles. The nanocomposite membranes have a greatly enhanced CO2 permeability while maintaining the CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivities of the pure BPPOdp membranes. The CO2 permeability increases as the silica content increases in the membrane. The 10-nm silica nanoparticles are more effective at increasing the CO2 permeability than the 30-nm silica nanoparticles. Mechanism studies show that the enhanced permeability results from the nanogaps between the silica nanoparticles and the polymer chains due to their incompatibility.
- Published
- 2007