Investigation of gas transport and other physical properties in relation to the bromination degree of polymers of intrinsic microporosity

Abstract

In this work, the synthesis of novel polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) with different degrees of bromine substitution by a free‐radical substitution reaction was performed. The synthesized polymers were thoroughly characterized and their bromination degree was verified via nuclear magnetic resonance. The brominated PIMs were investigated by infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and density measurements and correlated with their gas transport properties. It was found that with an increase in the bromination degree, the synthesized PIMs exhibited a significant increase in polymer chain packing density which led to reduced fractional free volume and consequent decrease in gas diffusion and permeability coefficients. The change in permeability coefficients caused an improvement in the CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and O2/N2 ideal permeability selectivities.