Development of highly gas-permeable polymers by metathesis copolymerization of 1-(p-trimethylsilyl)phenyl-1-propyne with tert-butyl and silyl group-containing diphenylacetylenes†
Abstract
The development of highly gas-permeable membranes is required for gas separation applications. In this study, 1-(p-trimethylsilyl)phenyl-1-propyne (SPP) was copolymerized with diphenylacetylenes bearing tert-butyl (BDPA) and SiMe3 (SDPA) groups at various feed ratios to obtain poly(SPP-co-BDPA) and poly(SPP-co-SDPA) copolymers, respectively. Free-standing membranes were fabricated from toluene solutions of the copolymers, the gas permeability of which increased as the SPP ratio decreased (PO2: 550–2100 barrers). Interestingly, poly(SPP-co-BDPA) and poly(SPP-co-SDPA) at a 1 : 4 ratio of SPP:BDPA and SPP:SDPA, respectively, showed higher permeabilities than the respective homopolymers. Desilylation of the poly(SPP-co-BDPA) membrane increased the gas permeability, whereas desilylation of the poly(SPP-co-SDPA) membrane had the opposite result.