Utilization Of Thiol-Ene Chemistry For The Simple Fabrication Of Zeolite-based Mixed-Matrix Membranes

摘要

Industrial applicability of highly permeable and selective gas-separation membranes is inhibited by difficult processing methods. Past research in the Nazarenko Research Group has demonstrated simple and low-energy fabrication of membranes utilizing rapid kinetics of thiol-ene "click" chemistry. Fast UV initiation and crosslinking of polymers provides additional benefits for the processing of mixed-matrix membrane (MMM), as the quick-setting network traps particles dispersed in the bulk. For this project, thiol-ene polymer networks were synthesized to investigate their potential as matrices for MMMs. Characterization of the relationship between filler-particle content and gas permeation was achieved via constant volume/variable pressure analysis. Preliminary studies show improvements in permeability and selectivity (CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2) of MMMs with moderate zeolite loading (up to 41 wt%) compared to the neat polymer membranes. Current results indicate that thiol-ene chemistry affords easily processable polymeric networks for high-performance MMMs. Further gas sorption and mechanical analyses are required to confirm the broad applicability of this strategy.