Microporous Matrimid/PIM‐1 Thin Film Composite Membranes with Narrow Pore Size Distribution used for Molecular Separation in Organic Solvents. Issue 6 (30th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Jiaqi; Feng, Weilin; Zhang, Mengxiao; Wang, Xiaohe; Fang, Chuanjie; Wang, Jianyu; Zhang, Lin; Zhu, Liping
• Is Part Of: Macromolecular rapid communications. Volume 44:Issue 6(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-11-30
• Subjects: molecular separations -- polyimide -- polymer of intrinsic microporosity -- pore size distributions -- thin film composite membranes; Macromolecules -- Periodicals; Polymers -- Periodicals; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 547.705
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200826
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1022-1336

Abstract

Abstract: Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are a class of microporous organic materials that contain interconnected pores of less than 2 nm in diameter. Such materials are of great potential used in membranes for molecular separation, such as drug fractionation in pharmaceutical industry. However, the PIMs membranes are often susceptible to low separation selectivity toward different molecules due to their wide pore size distribution. Herein, a linear polyimide, Matrimid, is incorporated with PIM‐1 (a typical member of PIMs) by solution blending, and the blends are dip‐coated onto a polyimide P84 support membrane to prepare thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes to control pore size distribution while keep high microporosity. The component miscibility, pore characteristics, and molecular separation performances of the Matrimid/PIM‐1 TFC membranes are investigated in detail. The Matrimid and PIM‐1 are partially miscible due to their similar Hansen solubility parameters. The Matrimid endows the selective layers (coatings) with narrower pore size distribution due to more compact chain packing. The prepared Matrimid/PIM‐1 TFC membranes show high selectivity for separation of riboflavin (80% of retention) and isatin (only 5% of retention). The developed membranes exhibit great potential for separating molecules with different molecular weights. Abstract : Molecular separation is highly demanded in chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Herein, we use a blend of Matrimid, a liner polyimide, and PIM‐1, a typical polymer of intrinsic microporosity, as a coating onto the polyimide P84 porous substrate to construct the thin film composite membrane. The membranes exhibit high selectivity for molecular separation in organic solvents.