Highly permeable polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1)-based flat dense and hollow fiber membranes for gas separation

Polymer-based membrane separation technology has become attractive due to its environmentally benign, small footprint, easy processability, and cost competitiveness. Polymers of intrinsic microporosity, e.g., PIM-1, has emerged as an attractive material for gas separation and energy development because of its high permeability. Three approaches in tuning the permeability and selectivity with the incorporation of PIM-1 are presented. Both flat sheet and hollow fiber PIM-1/Matrimid membranes were fabricated. The inclusion of PIM-1 into Matrimid led to a substantial increase in gas permeability and a slight decrease in selectivity. The addition of 5 and 10 wt% PIM-1 into Matrimix induced the permeability increments of 25 and 77%, respectively, without compromising its CO₂/CH₄ selectivity. A method to tailor the intrinsic properties of PIM-1 membranes from CO₂- to H₂-selective via blending with Matrimid and subsequently crosslinking the membranes by diamines at room temperature is presented. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the International Gas Union Research Conference (Copenhagen, Denmark 9/17-19/2014).