title: Polymer nanofilms with enhanced microporosity by interfacial polymerization.
abstract: Highly permeable and selective membranes are desirable for energy-efficient gas and liquid separations. Microporous organic polymers have attracted significant attention in this respect owing to their high porosity, permeability and molecular selectivity. However, it remains challenging to fabricate selective polymer membranes with controlled microporosity that are stable in solvents. Here we report a new approach to designing crosslinked, rigid polymer nanofilms with enhanced microporosity by manipulating the molecular structure. Ultrathin polyarylate nanofilms with thickness down to 20 nm are formed in situ by interfacial polymerization. Enhanced microporosity and higher interconnectivity of intermolecular network voids, as rationalized by molecular simulations, are achieved by using contorted monomers for the interfacial polymerization. Composite membranes comprising polyarylate nanofilms with enhanced microporosity fabricated in situ on crosslinked polyimide ultrafiltration membranes show outstanding separation performance in organic solvents, with up to two orders of magnitude higher solvent permeance than membranes fabricated with nanofilms made from non-contorted planar monomers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Maria F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Jimenez-Solomon
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Qilei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Kim E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Jelfs
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munoz-Ibanez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Livingston