Gas permeability of hexaphenylbenzene based polymers of intrinsic microporosity

The synthesis and characterization of a series of novel hexaphenylbenzene (HPB) based polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-HPBs) containing methyl, bromine, and nitrile substituents are reported. The successful formation of thin films from these polymers allowed the evaluation of the influence of the substituents on intrinsic microporosity and gas permeability. Analysis by the time-lag method also yielded information about gas diffusion coefficients and, indirectly, the gas solubility. The gas permeability varies as a function of the polarity of the substituents and shows a significant increase after treatment of the samples with methanol, especially for films cast from THF as the solvent. This enhancement, which is mostly due to an increase in the diffusion coefficient, is only partially lost upon aging of the membranes for 5 months. Measurements at different feed pressures confirm the typical dual mode sorption behavior, with increasing diffusivity and decreasing permeability and solubility as a function of the feed pressure.