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Electropolymerization of Molecular‐Sieving Polythiophene Membranes for H 2 Separation
Author(s) -
Zhang Mengxi,
Jing Xuechun,
Zhao Shuang,
Shao Pengpeng,
Zhang Yuanyuan,
Yuan Shuai,
Li Yanshuo,
Gu Cheng,
Wang Xiaoqi,
Ye Yanchun,
Feng Xiao,
Wang Bo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201904385
Subject(s) - membrane , selectivity , barrer , gas separation , chemical engineering , polymer , bottleneck , materials science , membrane technology , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , computer science , catalysis , engineering , biochemistry , embedded system
Membrane technologies that do not rely on heat for industrial gas separation would lower global energy cost. While polymeric, inorganic, and mixed‐matrix separation membranes have been rapidly developed, the bottleneck is balancing the processability, selectivity, and permeability. Reported here is a softness adjustment of rigid networks (SARs) strategy to produce flexible, stand‐alone, and molecular‐sieving membranes by electropolymerization. Here, 14 membranes were rationally designed and synthesized and their gas separation ability and mechanical performance were studied. The separation performance of the membranes for H 2 /CO 2 , H 2 /N 2 , and H 2 /CH 4 can exceed the Robeson upper bound, among which, H 2 /CO 2 separation selectivity reaches 50 with 626 Barrer of H 2 permeability. The long‐term and chemical stability tests demonstrate their potential for industrial applications. This simple, scalable, and cost‐effective strategy holds promise for the design other polymers for key energy‐intensive separations.