LDRD final report on gas separation by fullerene membranes

摘要

This LDRD (Laboratory Directed Research and Development) project was funded for two years beginning in October 1992 (FY93) and was designed as a multidisciplinary approach to determining the structural and physical properties of C(sub 60) intercalated with various gases. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relative permeation and diffusion of various gases with an ultimate goal of finding an effective filter for gas separations. A variety of probes including NMR, X-ray and neutron diffraction; IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and mass spectroscopy were employed on C(sub 60) impregnated with a number of gases including O(sub 2), N(sub 2), Ar, Ne, H(sub 2), NO and CH(sub 4). In order to increase the absorption and decrease the effective time constraints for bulk samples, these gases were intercalated into the C(sub 60) using pressures to several kbar. The results of these measurements which were quite encouraging for separation of O(sub 2) and N(sub 2) and for H(sub 2) from N(sub 2) led to 17 manuscripts which have been published in peer reviewed journals. The abstracts of these manuscripts are shown below along with a complete citation to the full text.