SIMULTANEOUS IMPROVEMENT OF GAS PERMEABILITY AND SELECTIVITY OF A POLYMER MATRIX HOSTING SELECTED IONIC LIQUIDS

Ionic Liquids (ILs) are attractive additives for polymeric materials since they combine low volatility, high chemical and thermal stability. In this work, dense films based on poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropro- pylene) (PVDF-HFP) loaded with selected Imidazolium bearing ILs were prepared and characterized for the separation of gaseous mixtures containing carbon dioxide (CO2). The PVDF block in the composite membranes present polar crystalline phases due to the IL presence during the membrane formation. Both ILs positively affect the gas permeation rates of the polymer matrix, resulting in membranes capable to separate polar/non polar gas mixtures. The nature of the anion in the ILs play an important role on the permeation properties of the resulting membranes.