PEG/PPG-PDMS-Adamantane-Based Crosslinked Terpolymer Using the ROMP Technique to Prepare a Highly Permeable and CO<sub>2</sub>-Selective Polymer Membrane

In this study, precursor molecules based on PEG/PPG and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), both widely used rubbery polymers, were copolymerized with bulky adamantane into copolymer membranes. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was employed during the polymerization process to create a structur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dongyoung Kim, Iqubal Hossain, Yeonho Kim, Ook Choi, Tae-Hyun Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/8/1674
Description
Summary:In this study, precursor molecules based on PEG/PPG and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), both widely used rubbery polymers, were copolymerized with bulky adamantane into copolymer membranes. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was employed during the polymerization process to create a structure with both ends crosslinked. The precursor molecules and corresponding polymer membranes were characterized using various analytical methods. The polymer membranes were fabricated using different compositions of PDMS and adamantane, to determine how the network structure affected their gas separation performance. PEG/PPG, in which CO<sub>2</sub> is highly soluble, was copolymerized with PDMS, which has high permeability, and adamantane, which controlled the crosslinking density with a rigid and bulky structure. It was confirmed that the resulting crosslinked polymer membranes exhibited high solubility and diffusivity for CO<sub>2</sub>. Further, their crosslinked structure using ROMP technique made it possible to form good films. The membranes fabricated in the present study exhibited excellent performance, i.e., CO<sub>2</sub> permeability of up to 514.5 Barrer and CO<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> selectivity of 50.9.
ISSN:2073-4360