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AuthorSong, Qilei
AuthorCao, Shuai
AuthorPritchard, Robyn H.
AuthorGhalei, Behnam
AuthorAl-Muhtaseb, Shaheen A.
AuthorTerentjev, Eugene M.
AuthorCheetham, Anthony K.
AuthorSivaniah, Easan
Available date2022-11-28T08:18:27Z
Publication Date2014
Publication NameNature Communications
ResourceScopus
Resource2-s2.0-84923103246
URIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5813
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/36741
AbstractOrganic open frameworks with well-defined micropore (pore dimensions below 2 nm) structure are attractive next-generation materials for gas sorption, storage, catalysis and molecular level separations. Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) represent a paradigm shift in conceptualizing molecular sieves from conventional ordered frameworks to disordered frameworks with heterogeneous distributions of microporosity. PIMs contain interconnected regions of micropores with high gas permeability but with a level of heterogeneity that compromises their molecular selectivity. Here we report controllable thermal oxidative crosslinking of PIMs by heat treatment in the presence of trace amounts of oxygen. The resulting covalently crosslinked networks are thermally and chemically stable, mechanically flexible and have remarkable selectivity at permeability that is three orders of magnitude higher than commercial polymeric membranes. This study demonstrates that controlled thermochemical reactions can delicately tune the topological structure of channels and pores within microporous polymers and their molecular sieving properties.
SponsorThis work was financially supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, UK), European Research Council (ERC) and an NPRP grant from the QNRF (Qatar). Q.S. acknowledges a PhD scholarship supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). S.C. acknowledges a PhD scholarship funded by the Cambridge Overseas Trust. We acknowledge the help from Dr Wei Li for the nanoinden-tation measurements and Kento Sakurai for gas transport measurements. We are grateful to the support from the Supercomputing Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Languageen
PublisherNature Publishing Group
SubjectDesign
synthesis and processing
Polymers
TitleControlled thermal oxidative crosslinking of polymers of intrinsic microporosity towards tunable molecular sieve membranes
TypeArticle
Volume Number5
dc.accessType Abstract Only


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