Reactive & Functional Polymers, Vol.133, 153-160, 2018
Spiro [fluorene-9,9 '-xanthene]-containing copolymers of intrinsic microporosity: synthesis, characterization and gas permeation properties
In the present study, a new bis(catechol) containing spiro[fluorene-9,9'-xanthene], namely, 4,4'-(spiro(fluorene9,9'-xanthene]-2',7'-diyl)bis(benzene-1,2-diol) (THSFX) was designed and synthesized. Polycondensation reactions of THSFX and varying compositions of THSFX and 5,5',6,6'-tetrahydroxy-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-1,1'-spirobisindane (TTSBI) were carried out with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (TFTPN) to obtain a homopolymer and copolymers, respectively. The organo-soluble polymers exhibited reasonably high molecular weights (23300-34,100 g/mol) and could be cast into self-standing films from their chloroform solutions. X-Ray diffraction studies indicated that PIMs were amorphous in nature. These polymers exhibited high thermal stability (T-10 = 490-510 degrees C) and possessed intrinsic microporosity with high BET surface area (360-796 m(2)/g). The gas permeation properties of SFX-PIM-25 and SFX-PIM-33 were evaluated and they exhibited high gas permeability (CO2 = 3595-4034 Barrer). The gas permeability data of SFX-PIM-25 and SFX-PIM-33 was located close to 1991 Robson upper bound for CO2/N-2, CO2/CH4 and O-2/N-2 gas pairs.
Keywords:Intrinsic microporosity;Spiro[fluorene-9,9 '-xanthene];Gas permeation;Structure-property relationships