Preparation and properties of polybenzoxazole-based gas separation membranes: a comparative study between thermal rearrangement (TR) of poly(hydroxyimide) and thermal cyclodehydration of poly(hydroxyamide)

Ashish Kushwaha, Michelle E. Dose, Zachary P. Smith, Shuangjiang Luo, Benny D. Freeman, Ruilan Guo

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35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This comparative study focuses on the cyclodehydration reaction of poly(hydroxyamide)s (PHAs) and the thermal rearrangement (TR) reaction of aromatic poly(hydroxyimide)s (APIs) to produce polybenzoxazoles (PBOs) for application as gas separation membranes. Systematic comparisons between the two routes showed that PHA cyclodehydration can produce fully converted PBO membranes at a temperature more than 100°C lower than the API-TR route. Gas separation performance of PHA-PBOs is comparable to API-TR polymers, and PHA-PBOs are considerably more mechanically robust. More importantly, PBO films can be produced equally well in both air and inert atmospheres via the PHA cyclodehydration route. The PHA-PBOs formed in air have statistically the same physical and transport properties as those formed in N2. The present study provides fundamental information regarding the PHA-to-PBO cyclodehydration process.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)81-93
Number of pages13
JournalPolymer
Volume78
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Nov 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Gas separation membrane
  • Poly(hydroxyamide) cyclodehydration
  • Polybenzoxazole (PBO)

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