Synthesis and characterization of polyethersulfone with intrinsic microporosity

Abstract

Polymers with intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are usually ladder-type polymers that adopt a spiro structure. In the present study, a new non-ladder-type polyethersulfone-type PIM that incorporates a linear sulfone moiety was synthesized. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements confirmed that the synthesized polymer had a high specific surface area (430–590 m² g⁻¹) due to the presence of micropores of size 0.54–0.66 nm. The intrinsic porosity characteristics of the new PIM are attributed to the resonance structures of sulfone and benzene moieties. Syntheses of new gas-separation membranes using PIMs containing sulfone or similar functional groups are expected in the future.